HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 21718-04-2015 i
ORDINANCE NO. 21718-04-2015
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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFFING
ORDINANCE NO. 21533-11-2014 TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS IN THE FIREFIGHTER RANK BY SIX,
INCREASE THE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED POSITIONS IN THE
ENGINEER RANK BY TWO, INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS IN THE LIEUTENANT RANK BY TWO,
AND INCREASE THE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED POSITIONS IN THE
CAPTAIN RANK BY TWO; PROVIDING FOR ADOPTION BY
REFERENCE OF A STATEMENT OF INTENT AND PURPOSE IN
ADOPTING THIS ORDINANCE; PROVIDING THAT THIS j
ORDINANCE IS CUMULATIVE OF ALL PRIOR ORDINANCES NOT IN
CONFLICT AND REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; j
PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN !
EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT HEREBY KNOWN: i
WHEREAS, pursuant to Chapter 143.021(a), Texas Local Government Code, the City
Council shall prescribe the authorized number of positions in each classification (rank) by
ordinance; and
WHEREAS, a collective bargaining agreement was ratified by IAFF Local 440 and
authorized;by the City Council on October 21, 2014,to be effective November 1, 2014; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the terms of said agreement, the Fire Chief has the discretion to
implement utilization of two-person emergency response companies to respond to nonstructural
fire emergencies; and
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WHEREAS,the Fire Chief has decided to exercise the option of implementing two, two-
person emergency response companies; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the terms of said agreement, two-person response teams must
be staffed with an engineer and either a lieutenant or captain; and "
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WHEREAS, in order to implement the proposed plan, six vacant firefighter positions
will be eliminated, while two engineer positions, two lieutenant positions, and two captain
positions will be added; and
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Ordinance No.21718-04-2015
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WHEREAS, on November 18, 2014, the City Council adopted the most recent staffing
ordinance for the Fire Department, Ordinance No. 21533-11-2014, ("Prior Staffing Ordinance")
which, in part, established the Fire Department's sworn personnel staffing levels effective
November 18, 2014:
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Assistant Chief 3
Deputy Chief 6
Battalion Chief 27
Captain 84
Lieutenant 121
Engineer 202
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Firefighter 465
TOTAL 908
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WHEREAS, in order to implement two, two-person companies, it is necessary to amend I
Fire Department Staffing Ordinance No. 21533-11-2014 as follows, effective April 8, 2015 at
12:01 a.m.:
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Assistant Chiefs 3 j
Deputy Chiefs 6
Battalion Chiefs 27
Captain 86
Lieutenant 123
Engineer 204
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Firefighter 459
TOTAL 908
NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, THAT:
SECTION 1. '
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The number of positions in the rank of Firefighter shall be reduced by six, rank of
Engineer shall be increased by two; rank of Lieutenant shall be increased by two; and rank of i
Captain shall be increased by two, effective April 8, 2015, resulting in no overall change of
authorized positions.
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SECTION 2.
Effective April 8 2015 at 12:01 a.m. each classification rank authorized in the City of
P (rank) tY
Fort Worth Fire Department shall contain the following number of positions:
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Assistant Chiefs 3
Deputy Chiefs 6
Battalion Chiefs 27 ;
Ordinance No.21718-04-2015
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Captain 86 I
Lieutenant 123
Engineer 204
Firefighter 459
TOTAL 908
SECTION 3.
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The Mayor and Council Communication ("M&C") that is presented contemporaneously
with this ordinance is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference for further clarification
and explanation of the purposes and intent of the Council in their adoption of this ordinance.
SECTION 4. f
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This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the
City Fort Worth, Texas (1986), 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.
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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 unconstitutional by the valid j
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 G
incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph f
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or section.
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SECTION 6.
This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect on April 8, 2015 at 12:01
a.m. and it is so ordained. !
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APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: ATTEST:
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Assista9t City Attorney Mary J. ser, Cit ecretary
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ADOPTED: April 7, 2015
EFFECTIVE: April 8, 2015
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I Ordinance No.21718-04-2015
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City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
F_�, 4COUNCIL ACTION: A"pppoved.on 4/7/201�5�- Ordinance No.'21718-04-2015" , ,'
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DATE: Tuesday, April 07, 2015 REFERENCE NO.: G-18452
LOG NAME: 36FIRESTAFFINGORDINANCE15-4 I
SUBJECT:
Adopt Ordinance Amending Fire Department Staffing Ordinance No. 21533-11-2014 to Reduce the
Number of Positions in the Firefighter Rank by Six and Increase the Number of Positions in the Engineer
Rank by Two, Increase the Number of Positions in the Lieutenant Rank by Two and Increase the Number
of Positions in the Captain Rank by Two (ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS)
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RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached Ordinance amending the Fire Department's
Staffing Ordinance No. 21533-11-2014 adopted November 18, 2014 to reduce the number of positions in
the Firefighter rank by six and increase the number of positions in the Engineer rank by two, increase the
number of positions in the Lieutenant rank by two and increase the number of positions in the Captain
rank by two. Total Civil Service staffing levels remain at 908.
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DISCUSSION: j
Background:
The most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the City of Fort Worth and the Fort '
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Worth Professional Firefighters Association, approved by City Council on October 21, 2014, allows the
Fire Chief discretion to implement utilization of two-person emergency response companies to supplement
existing four-person companies at specific stations where call volumes or other factors necessitate service
expansion. Additionally, the Agreement allows the Fire Chief discretion to exclude Fire Station 44
(dedicated exclusively to Meacham Airport) from the four-person staffing standard.
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Action Plan:
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In an effort to better allocate Fire Department staffing and equipment resources, the Fire Chief plans to
reduce fire service staffing at Fire Station 44 to a two-person staffing model and reallocate existing !
resources to staff a smaller, two-person emergency response vehicle at Fire Station 31 - currently a single !�
company station located at 4209 Longstraw Drive in far north Fort Worth (Council District 4). This fully-
outfitted vehicle is currently in the department's fleet but without dedicated staffing. Both the Aviation and
Fire Departments agree that a two-person staffing model at the fire station dedicated exclusively to
Meacham Airport provides adequate coverage.
The utilization of a smaller, two-person vehicle to respond to primarily non-structural fire emergencies in
high-call areas is a national trend and will allow for the following fire service and cost efficiency
advantages:
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. Ability to maximize staffing and equipment resource efficiencies and better scale response levels to
match specific incident requirements;
i . Additional emergency response resources in the far north, where call volume and response times
warrant additional resources; and
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. Utilization of a smaller, more cost efficient, two-person emergency response vehicle at Fire Station
Logname: 36FIRESTAFFINGORDINANCEI5-4 Page 1 of 3
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31 saves operating and maintenance costs compared with the larger fire apparatus and increases
the fire engine operational life expectancy. Additionally, the maneuverability of the smaller vehicle
has response time advantages in high-traffic areas such as the north corridor.
The CBA requires that these two-person companies shall not be dispatched to structure fires as a
structural firefighting unit or perform any structural firefighting duties.
Required Staffing Adjustments:
The CBA requires two-person companies be staffed with either a Captain or Lieutenant and an
Engineer. Therefore, in order to fully implement the proposed plan, six vacant Firefighter positions will
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require re-purposing to meet this requirement. ,
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The following table shows the current and proposed number of Fire Department Civil Service positions by
rank. The proposed amendments will not change the total number of civil service positions (908).
Rank Current Proposed Change
Assistant Chief 3 3
Deputy Chief 6 6
Battalion Chief 27 27
Captain 84 86 (+2)
Lieutenant 121 123 (+2) ;
Engineer 202 204 (+2)
Firefighter 465 459
TOTAL 908 908 I
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Cost Implications:
The replacement of six vacant Firefighter positions with six positions of higher rank will cost approximately
$182,000.00 annually. l
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As a partial offset to these costs, the ability to add a smaller, more cost effective, emergency response
vehicle at Fire Station 31 will allow utilization of a vehicle with a much lower cost-per-mile to operate for a j
large percentage of calls. The cost-per-mile to operate Fire Engine 31 is $2.63 per mile, compared with I
new created two-person company will
0.70 per mile for the smaller vehicle. It is estimated that the I cr
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allow Fire Engine 31 to travel approximately 13,000 to15,000 fewer miles each year, saving approximately
$23,000.00 to $27,000.00 in vehicle operating cost and extend its life by an estimated three years.
In addition to extending the life expectancy of Fire Engine 31, there are other cost-avoidance
considerations as well. With Fire Station 31's 3,610 annual response call volume, planning would
ordinarily be underway to transition this station from a single to double company, which would essentially
double the operating cost of the station. By reallocating existing resources and utilizing a two-person ,
company and vehicle, the department is able to incrementally expand emergency response resources at a
i fraction of the cost to add a second four-person company (approximately $2.2 million).
The Fire Department is not requesting any additional resources for this proposal and is committed to
absorbing any net cost increases.
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Summary:
'C With more flexible staffing options available to the Fire Chief in the new CBA, the Fire Department is able
to address a growing need for additional emergency response resources in far north Fort Worth by
reallocating existing resources. Net costs will be minimal and will require no additional budgetary
allocations as operational efficiencies will partially offset required staffing costs.
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Logname: 36FIRESTAFFINGORDINANCE15-4 Page 2 of 3
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FISCAL INFORMATION /CERTIFICATION:
The Financial Management Services Director certifies that funds were not specifically budgeted for this
expense in the Fiscal Year 2015 Fire Department General Fund budget. However, the Fire Department is
committed to identifying savings to offset the full cost.
FUND CENTERS:
TO Fund/Account/Centers FROM Fund/Account/Centers
CERTIFICATIONS:
Submitted for City Manager's Office by: Rudolph Jackson (6199)
Originating Department Head: David Coble (6801)
Additional Information Contact: David Coble (6801)
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