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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFA 2015-07-08 Minutesi �c M of Tukwila x�oa MINUTES Regional Fire Authority Annexation Steering Committee July 8, 2015 Call to Order Co -Chair Verna Seal called the meeting to order at 1736 hours. Committee Members David Cline, City Administrator; Verna Seal, City Councilmember; Joe Duffie, City Councilmember; Moira Bradshaw, Senior Planner; Vicky Carlson, Deputy Finance Director; Chris Flores, Tukwila Interim Fire Chief; Alan Codenys, Tukwila firefighter; Dawn Judkins, Captain, Union President of Tukwila firefighters; Jim Schneider, Chief Kent RFA; Margaret Martin, Kent RFA Finance Manager; Mike Denbo, Commissioner, board member of Kent RFA; Brian Snure, Attorney for Kent RFA board; Mark Segale, Segale Business Park; Christian Faltenberger, Facilities Manager for the Westfield Mall; Roxanne Knowle, Senior Real Estate Manager for CBRE; Jessica Jerwa, Tukwila citizen representative; Jerry Thornton, Tukwila citizen representative; Kathleen Wilson, Tukwila citizen representative. Follow -up Discussion of June meeting Moira Bradshaw referred the Committee to the June Meeting Summary where pros and cons of annexing to the RFA were listed. She asked for clarification and any questions or comments on some of the statements made during the small group discussion. 1. Will the FD Cares program be extended to annexed territory? Chief Schneider responded that the FD cares program would be extended to the KRFA's (Kent Regional Fire Authority) annexed territory. The FD cares program was started in 2010, and the unit is currently staffed with two EMT's. The KRFA has contract funding from King County EMS, Premera and Valley Medical and we plan to hire nurses, so that in the future the unit would be staffed with one firefighter EMT and one nurse. The current FD Cares unit operates out of SeaTac and has a standard 20 minute response time. The KRFA would like to eventually have two units in service. The Affordable Care Act has complicated their efforts. Other organizations, including King County, have tried to institute a similar program. Some organizations do not have enough calls to warrant a unit. The only way the program would work for these areas, is if two departments combined resources. Because King County only wanted to staff their unit with one person, there were also safety concerns. 27 Regional Fire Authority Annexation Steering Committee Minutes Page 2 of 6 July 8, 2015 2. Why is the KRFA able to spend more time planning for issues whereas Tukwila is more often reacting to situations. Interim Chief Flores responded that the Tukwila Fire Department doesn't have the support resources to do planning like the KRFA. In Tukwila items are budgeted for when actually purchased. Tukwila also has to compete with other City departments for funds. The KRFA can incorporate equipment purchases into their budget so they have the funds to work with, which allows for better planning. Chief Schneider stated that he can trust his chief officers because their skill set is good. The size and depth of the KRFA's think tank is better. The KRFA also is under no pressure from the board or a City, so they can take the time to do it right. 2. Does the KRFA have the capacity to take on Tukwila, and will there be problems if the KRFA gets too big? Chief Schneider said the KRFA has gone thru the process twice, the first time when they created the regional fire authority and the second with the City of SeaTac contract and they have learned a lot of valuable lessons. When the KRFA took on SeaTac, they allowed time to train firefighters that wanted to work in different areas. Their goal was to make the transition so seamless that the citizens of SeaTac would never know the transition had taken place. If the KRFA annexed Tukwila, the existing people serving Tukwila would still be there. If the annexation occurs, the KRFA would have a lot of lead -time to prepare. The bigger the fire authority, the larger the economy of scale will be. The economy would increase down the road. One question to be considered is the size of the governing board. Currently, there are 6 voting board members and 2 advisory positions for SeaTac and Covington. If the KRFA annexed Tukwila, a proposed option would be to have 3 voting board members from Tukwila. Jerry Thornton asked if there is a difference dealing with a city council versus a fire board. Chief Schneider said one of the KRFA's chief officers (the former chief of SeaTac Fire) is the liaison with SeaTac, and he attends the council meetings. The KRFA meets with the city mayors once a month. If Tukwila joins the RFA, there would be a liaison with Tukwila so the City would not lose the communication. 3. There is a perception that there would be a loss of City control and identity if the KRFA annexes the Tukwila Fire Department. Councilmember Seal explained that people are attached to their fire department and feel they would lose something if Tukwila annexes to the KRFA. Christian Faltenberger, Facilities Manager for the Westfield Mall, pointed out that there is currently a homegrown feeling that might get lost in a larger group. Chief Flores stated that there are already mutual aid responses between cities, and that Tukwila participates in the training consortium. So far there has only been positive feedback. Chief Schneider stated that if the annexation takes place, all apparatus would not only have the name of the fire authority on the vehicle, but also the name of the city in whose area it was serving. After the next FBC (fire benefit charge) vote takes place, the name of the KRFA will be changed to a more W. Regional Fire Authority Annexation Steering Committee Minutes Page 3 of 6 July 8, 2015 generic name. The KRFA also has two public educators and supports a lot of community outreach. Following every fire KRFA representatives meet with the surrounding neighbors to discuss the event. When SeaTac contracted for services with the KRFA, they elected not to pay for public education which caused some problems during the transition process. He stressed the importance of public communication during the transition process. It requires a lot of commitment from the departments involved and multiple avenues of communication. Current (2015) Budget for the Tukwila Fire Department Vicky Carlsen, Deputy Finance Director, gave a presentation on the current budget for the Tukwila Fire Department. The Operations budget, which encompasses administration, suppression, training, facilities (maintenance and supplies), special operations and aid /rescue, amounts to $9,453,805. The rest of the $10,956,847 budget encompasses LEOFF1 responsibilities, firemen's pension, fire prevention and emergency management, which would be retained by the City if the annexation passes. Current indirect costs for IT, HR, finance (insurance), City Attorney, public works and parks maintenance services total $797,070. These services are provided to the fire department and the staff time currently allocated to the Fire Department would be reallocated to other departments and other projects /priorities. If the City were to annualize all of the capital costs of the Fire Department, that is equipment, apparatus and facilities, it would need $1,375,000 to $2,350,000 per year. The actual cost for bulk equipment purchases is budgeted in the year of purchase and the annualized cost for a 20 year period would be $75,000 - $150,000. To replace apparatus an annualized cost would be $500,000 - $900,000. Currently, the fire department has 1 aerial, 1 aid car, 7 pumpers, 4 pickups, 3 sedans, 5 SUVs, 14 trailers, 2 vans, 2 boats and 1 generator. The original cost for these vehicles is over $5 million; replacement cost including equipment on the rigs, would be over $9 million. The annualized costs for facilities would be $800,000 - $1,300,000. There are four fire stations. Three of the stations need to be replaced. Estimates are $7 -9 million for Station 51, $5 -7 million for Station 52 and $5 -7 million for Station 54. Station 53, which is the newest of the Stations and is 20 years old, needs major maintenance for a cost of $500,000. The total costs for the stations would be $15.5 to $21.5 million. The City has $4.8 million in guaranteed impact fees. Future impact fees collection is dependent on development. The City started collecting impact fees in 2008, but they haven't met the original projections because of the economy. The City typically issues debt to finance buildings. An RFA Budget (2015) consolidated with Tukwila Chief Schneider stated that it is difficult for the City of Tukwila to determine future revenue since it is based on assessed values and taxes that can vary. It is easier for the KRFA to determine future revenue because it is based on $1.00 of assessed value plus the fire benefit charge. There were two primary reasons Kent decided to go with an RFA. 1. Sustain services. The revenue cities collect is different every year, whereas if the assessed value goes down, an RFA can raise the fire benefit charge to maintain the service level. In the RFA the fire department is not competing with other city departments for funding, therefore there is a direct connection between cost for services and the service itself. W Regional Fire Authority Annexation Steering Committee Minutes Page 4 of 6 July 8, 2015 2. Economy of scale. As the RFA orders more equipment and apparatus, there will be savings from the bulk purchases' discounts. Also the need for administrative staff such as chiefs and deputy chiefs will be removed. Using 2015 numbers, Margaret Martin, Kent RFA finance manager, gave a presentation on the projected RFA budget if the Tukwila annexation were to take place. The total for administration, operations and training, facilities, fleet, IT, and logistics /strategic planning would be $10,953,954. In order to help provide a comparison, the estimated cost of operating the City fire department per $1,000 assessed value is $1.95 per thousand; the cost of operating the RFA department per $1,000 assessed value would be $2.09 per thousand. The budget will be fine -tuned as the annexation approaches. Salaries and health care costs create the largest difference in the two budgets. The KRFA firefighters' salaries and benefits are higher than Tukwila. We project annual capital expenses for equipment, apparatus and facility needs at an additional $0.10 per $1,000 or a total of $500,000 per year. Every year the KRFA sets aside an amount from its two revenue sources for capital expenses. The KRFA's strategy for capital expenses is to make it part of the operating budget. The KRFA would like to collect impact fees but until impact fees are adopted by the jurisdictions that we serve, we use SEPA to collect mitigation payments. The KRFA sometimes leases apparatus, which can be paid off over three years. If the annexation takes place, the replacement cycles for equipment and apparatus would be the same for Tukwila and Kent. Plans and projects are brought to the governance board for approval. Future savings if the KRFA and Tukwila Fire consolidate: • Savings of overtime expense by spreading the workload over a larger number of personnel • Effective firefighting force — the KRFA has a bigger initial response, whereas Tukwila now has to call for a second response after they arrive • Reduction of risk with a more effective firefighting force • Eliminate duplication of positions through attrition • Purchasing power when purchasing in bulk Positives in consolidation with RFA • Sustain services with enhanced revenue options (fire benefit charge) • True allocation of cost for fire risk • Accountability to the citizens • Citizens determine the level of service • FD Cares program • Share fire resources over the full response area • Efficiency through regionalization • 24/7 fire investigator on duty which enables the firefighting crews to leave and turn the scene over to the investigator • Expanded public education program • Increased promotion opportunities because of the larger staff • Economy of scale in the recruitment of and firefighter selection process 30 Regional Fire Authority Annexation Steering Committee Minutes Page 5 of 6 July 8, 2015 • Increased opportunities for operational assignments in specialty areas: haz mat, fire prevention, fire investigation; more versatility adds synergy to the organization Organizational Chart Chief Schneider presented the current organizational chart for the KRFA. Presently, the KRFA contracts with the City of Kent for some of its IT needs, but will eventually have their own people. They anticipate a lot of future growth in their fleet services and will have satellite shops to provide services throughout the region. The City of Kent contracts with the KRFA for fire prevention and emergency management services, which includes 1 position that has been grant funded for the last nine years. The KRFA will soon hire a social worker for the FD Cares program and will hopefully be hiring nurses soon. The KRFA used the Kent Civil Service Commission in the beginning, but as the commissioners leave, Kent will replace them with their own commissioners. If the KRFA annexes Tukwila, in addition to the 66 current staff members of the Tukwila Fire Department, they anticipate adding 2.5 new full -time support staff employees. Christian Faltenberger, Facilities Manager for the Westfield Mall, asked if fire prevention would be localized to Tukwila if the annexation takes place. Chief Schneider said discussion of particulars would take place during interlocal agreement meetings, but fire prevention would continue to work out of Tukwila, if Tukwila decides to contract with KRFA to provide this service. The KRFA would like to add three more inspectors to do company level inspections. They believe that it's more efficient for the same people to do the initial and then any follow -up inspections that may be necessary. Currently, in Tukwila the engine crews do the initial inspections and sometimes are outside of their response area to do them. Governance Discussion Moira Bradshaw asked the committee if they had any concerns they would like the Governance Committee to consider at their meeting on July 30th. She posed the following questions as an example. 1. If the annexation passes, would a 3- person representation by the City Council to the RFA board work? 2. Are there any specific issues that need to be considered when they review the RFA Plan? Councilmember Seal thought that having three council members on the RFA board would work because the Board members and meetings will be focused on fire services and the Board will have more input since they are only dealing with one issue. In contrast, the current situation for the Tukwila City Council is primarily influencing fire service through the budget process where they have to consider the needs of all the City departments. Councilmember Duffie said being on the Steering Committee has been a learning experience, and although he was initially not in favor of the annexation to the KRFA, he now sees a lot of benefit to joining them. He said it is important that Tukwila's citizens are aware of, know about and understand the issue. Mark Segale, Segale Business Park, asked how much interaction there was between the City Council and the Tukwila firefighters. Capt. Judkins replied that there was not much interaction, and the 31 Regional Fire Authority Annexation Steering Committee Minutes Page 6 of 6 July 8, 2015 department's budget was determined more by which City department made the better presentation to the City Council. The Tukwila firefighters usually work with what they have. Christian Faltenberger, Facilities Manager for the Westfield Mall, asked how the KRFA board works. Are more board positions given to one area than another? Brian Snure, Attorney for the Kent RFA Board, explained that the RFA Plan establishes the membership of the RFA board. The Board sets its operating rules, redefining the quorum if needed. Presently, the quorum consists of 2 members from District 37 and 2 members from Kent. The KRFA board is currently a 6 member board with 3 Kent City Council members, 3 King County Fire District members and 2 non - voting members from the SeaTac and Covington City Councils. General Discussion Roxanne Knowle, Senior Real Estate Manager for CBRE, asked why the KRFA wanted Tukwila to join them and why? Chief Schneider said that the two fire departments share a similar culture and have already shown that they work well together. There is a lot of vision on the RFA Governing Board. The Chiefs create a good future for the younger firefighters and work at sustaining services and saving money thru the economy of scale. In order to be part of the regional fire authority the geographic areas have to have contiguous borders. Finally, the two fire departments have been discussing the possibility of annexation since 2008. The 2014 Tukwila Fire Exploratory Committee considered several other options and decided that annexation to the KRFA was the best option. Adjournment At 1936 hours Co -Chair Seal declared the regional fire authority steering committee meeting adjourned. Minutes taken and prepared by Norita Deckard, Admin. Support Tech. 32