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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 9045~~ + r / 1 ~ Y ORDINANCE NO. i ~~ AN ORDINANCE SPECIFYING THE AUTHORIZED POSITIONS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND CREATING NEW POSITIONS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT; AUTHORIZING THE FIRE CHIEF TO APPOINT TWO DEPUTY FIRE CHIEFS TO SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE CHIEF AND SPECIFYING THE RIGHTS OF SUCH APPOINTEES UPON REMOVAL; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; NAMING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT OF THIS ORDINANCE. WHEREAS, the Fire Chief has requested the City Council to specify and authorize the number of positions in the Fire Department for the 1983-1984 Fiscal Year; and WHEREAS, with the passage of Ordinance 8886, the authorized number of positions in the Fire Department was established as 654, with authorized staffing levels of 304 Firefighters, 156 Fire Engineers, 90 Fire Lieutenants, 81 Fire Captains, 18 District Chiefs and 5 Deputy Chiefs; and WHEREAS, the Fire Chief desires to alter the authorized number of positions for Deputy Chiefs, District Chiefs and Captains, with- out, however, altering the budget of the Department; and WHEREAS, the alteration of the authorized number of positions will add two additional Deputy Chief positions; and WHEREAS, the Fire Chief desires to select and appoint persons to these two additional Deputy Chief positions without examination and not under civil service protection, but to serve at the pleasure of the Fire Chief as authorized by Section 8A, Article 1269m; and WHEREAS, the specification and authorization of these positions is a necessity; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS SECTION 1. That the following positions are the only positions authorized in the City of Fort Worth Fire Department for the Fiscal Year 1983-1984: S~ Fire Fighter 304 Fire Engineer 156 Fire Lieutenant 90 Fire Captain 80 District Chief 17 Deputy Chief 7 TOTAL 654 SECTION 2. That the Fire Chief is authorized to select and appoint the two new Deputy Chiefs without examination and not under civil service protection, but to serve at the pleasure of the Fire Chief as autho- rized by Section 8A, Article 1269m. A person appointed by the Fire Chief to such a Deputy Chief position who is subsequently removed from that position by the Chief shall be reinstated in the Department in the same classification, or its equivalent, that the person held prior to appointment, and shall retain all rights of seniority in the Department. If such a person is charged with an offense in violation of the civil service rules and indefinitely suspended by the Chief, the person shall have the same rights and privileges of a hearing before the Civil Service Commission, and in the same manner and under the same conditions as classified em- ployees. If the Commission or a court of competent jurisdiction finds the charges to be untrue or unfounded, the person shall be immediately restored to the same classification, or its equivalent, that the person held prior to appointment. Such a person shall enjoy all the rights and privileges of his prior position according to seniority and shall be repaid for any lost wages. The provisions of this Section 2 are not intended to confer upon such person any greater rights than those established under Article 1269m, and this Section shall be interpreted and construed in accordance therewith. SECTION 3. That all of the declarations and findings contained in the pre- amble of this ordinance are made a part hereof and shall be fully effective as part of the ordained subject matter of this ordinance. -2- ~. ` a ~ .. -: -; .. SECTION 4. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordi- nances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1964), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 5. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitu- tional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 6. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the caption in the minutes of the City Council and by filing the ordinance in the ordi- nance records of the City. SECTION 7. This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect from and after its passage, and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: City Attorney Date : 3 ~ ~ - g ADOPTED: ~~~j ~ ~~ EFFECTIVE: -3- ~2~~ ®~ .~®?°~ ~~11°1~~.~ ~~~~IGS MASTER FILE ~\~ ~Y.~Y~~~ 'liW~~LtV ~®IVIY'~~(V~ ~®~~IVIV~~~V~L.WIV~~U IV I~ CffY MANAGER 1 ~ y i ACCOUNTING 2 DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT NUMBER Reorganization of Fire PAGE TRANSPORTATION~PU ~~~~+gry~j~a G-5923 Department Administration 1 of_-__3_ F,NE ADMINISTRA710 ~1 This request is for a reorganization of the top management structure in the Fire CAW 1 Department. It is designed to take advantage. of recent changes in Civil Service Law that allow for greater flexibility in selecting senior management positions,. As you are aware, the Fire Department has been aggressive in providing a mucYi higher level of public protection than has- ever been attempted before in Fort Worth. To date, this has resulted in a significant increase in services pro-• vided, absorbing expansions into new areas, and a much improved overall capabil-• ity and yet has held the lid on the Hiring of new employees, maintaining they same number over the past four years. ~hese -achievements have been accomplished partly through a non-traditional management approach that adjusts organizationally with changes in factors which affect departmental effectiveness. Tice Fire Department has adjusted several times over the past few years, and it is felt now that another adjustment will return significant improvements in the service delivery ability of the Depart- ment. Several changes have occurred that have led to this decision to request a reor- ganization, as follows: 1) Work Overload for Senior Staff is exemplified by the large number of compen- satory hours awarded for extra hours worked and continuing "log jams" in various programs, even though internal adjustments were made in an attempt to eliminate them. 2) New Programs.-a-re being added to the Department's already busy agenda. The fire code enforcement 'program requires a much higher level of training than has ,• ever been attempted before. Much more sophisticated training in a number of areas is required for Department officers if they are to manage their increased responsibilities effectively. Specialized training for fire engineers is neces- sary for the proper operation and maintenance of new, more complex equipment. The proposed Fire Reserve program, if it is to be successful, will require a significant level of management time both during development and for on-going operations. This reorganization will provide the Department with the ability to be more effective in its leave management program. All of these new programs point the way to increased efficiencies in operations in terms of dollar savings and better utilization of existing resources. 3) Changes in the Civil Service Act (Article 1269m, Vernon's Civil Statutes) occurred in 1983 that now allow increased management flexibility in selecting assistant managers in Fire and Police departments. This was achieved after many ~, --":^ DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT PAGE NUMBER Reorganization of Fire Department Administration 2 of3 3/8/84 G-5923 __ years of effort by the City of Fort Worth and the Texas Municipal League and now offers the opportunity to exercise management prerogative in this regard where it was non-existent before. .It is important to capitalize on this effort as soon as possible to achieve potential rewards for this hard fought endeavor. The organizational restructuring and the people selected to fill the new posi- tions were carefully evaluated so as to maintain, as much as possible, a positive team management approach and a more effective division of responsibil- ities. Proposal (Organizational Chart Attached) In the proposal, one District Chief's position is upgraded to a Deputy Chief and one new additional Deputy Chief position is created. One Captain position would be removed from training. The two Deputies would manage the Administration and Training functions, and these functions would be upgraded to full Divisions within the Department organizational structure. As can be seen from th~e~ breakdown of responsibilities, both areas have significant and complex agendas that fully qualify them for Division status. Most of the new emphasis areas fall into these two categories. Captain Bob Gibson will be promoted to Deputy Chief in charge of Training. District Chief John Cate will be promoted to Deputy Chief and will be assigned as Shift Commander in the Operations Division. The five current Deputy Chiefs (Cassaday, Peacock, Williams, Akin and Brown) would continue to serve under civil service protection. The 1983 changes to Article 1269m authorize the City Council, by ordinance, to permit the Fire Chief to select and appoint the two new Deputy Chiefs without examination and not under civil service protection. These two Deputy Chiefs (Gibson and Cate) would serve at the pleasure of the Fire Chief. If the Chief removes them from their __ Deputy Chief positions in the future, for reasons other than misconduct, Article 1269m would require that they be reinstated to the positions which they held immediately prior to appointment without loss of seniority. Using the base salary figures for the two positions involved, the cost impli- cations for this proposal would break out in this manner: CURRENT PROPOSED 5 Deputies 7 Deputies 18 Dist. Chiefs 17 Dist. Chiefs 23 Chief Officers 24 Chief Officers 75 Captains 74 Captains Cost/Annum; 17,,268 Financing: The cost is negligible, particularly when compared with the significance of this top management reorganization. The costs of the reorganization will not require a supplemental appropriation and can be paid out of the Department's current budget. ~/~' .. DATE REFERENCE NUMBER SUr3JECT Reorganization of Fire PAGE 3/8/84 G-5923 Department Administration ~-ar~_ Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance: 1. Altering the authorized stren gth of the Fire Department to reflect the addition of two Deputy Chief positions and the deletion of one District Chief position and one Captain position, 2. Authorizing the Fire Chief to fill the two additional Deputy Chief posi- tions by selection and appointment of persons without examination and not under civil service protection to serve at the pleasure of the Fire Chief, as authorized by Section 8A, Article 1269m. VS:icc rf ., -~'' f APPROVED $Y CITY COUNCIL MAR 8 1984 /~ /~.>- 4~ t~~~~u-r.~-~..,~ City Seczetory of the City of ~ 3~.Ci~~1t~Tliiai SUBMITTED FOR THE CITY MANAGER'S DISPOSITION BY COUNCIL. PROCESSED BY OFFICE BY {~ APPROVED ORIGINATING l OTHER (OESGRIBE) DEPARTMENT HEAD Chief McMillen CITY SECRETARY CONTACpITIONAL INFORMATIpJJief McMillen Ext 6$oc~ OPTED ORDINANCE iVO D ~~ : A