HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-03-19 Finance and Safety Minutes
Finance and Safety Committee
March 19,2007
Present:
Jim Haggerton, Chair; Joan Hernandez, Dennis Robertson
Kevin Fuhrer, David Haynes, Jim Morrow, Nick Olivas, Firefighter (FF) Steve
Rydeen, FF Curl, FF Gilbert, FF Cmwhite, FF McFarland, Chuck Parrish,
Fire Lt. Lavern Peterson, Rhonda Berry
1. Emen!encv Preparedness of Fire Stations Chief Olivas described the impact of the recent
power outage on local fire stations: the length of time the stations were without power, the
number of calls we responded to during those times and the impacts that resulted to the
firefighters and to other city employees that routinely use our fire stations ( primarily police
personnel). He expressed the importance of standby power for the fire stations and all other city
facilities, and that standby power for city facilities has been a topic of discussion for a number of
years. The Chiefthen asked IAFF Local President Peterson to express to the committee his
experiences during the power outage since he had been the acting battalion chief during the
outage. IAFF Local President Lavern Peterson, with help from other firefighters present,
expressed members' concerns regarding the lack of back up generators at Tukwila fire stations.
They expressed the city's good fortune in that a number of potential problems did not arise
during the recent power outage, and urged the committee to take the necessary steps to get
backup generators installed in the stations sooner rather than later.
Councilmember Robertson stated his opinion that prioritization of emergency preparedness
expenditures in the city, and the fix to the backup generator issue, are important policy issues to
be considered the responsibility of the Council. The committee members were unanimous in
their desire to address these issues as early in 2007 as possible.
Councilmember Hernandez reiterated her belief that it is the responsibility of the Finance &
Safety Committee to work with the Fire Department and the Police Department to address the
safety of our citizens and the safety of our firefighters and police officers and we all need to
work together on being more prepared for an emergency
Jim Morrow informed the committee of his intent to bring forward a prioritized list to the
committee for consideration and recommendation to the Council. Mr. Morrow's list included
items such as standby generators for the appropriate City facilities; battery backup for traffic
signals; placement of electronic informational signs throughout the city; City-operated
emergency shelter; earthquake readiness of City facilities; staffing for oversight and
implementation of our emergency plan; resources to re-write the city's emergency plan as
needed; and location and equipping of a permanent Emergency Operations Center. Mr. Morrow
plans to prioritize the list with help from the first responders team, and agreed to bring a
prioritized list back for committee review at the 4/16 meeting.
Mr. Fuhrer also agreed to have available potential sources of funding to support the prioritized
list at the 4/16 Committee Meeting.
Council Members Haggerton and Hernandez agreed that revisiting this item at the April 16
committee meeting was satisfactory; Council member Robertson repeated his request that the
item be rescheduled for April 2 rather than 16. Reschedule discussion for April 16 meeting.
2. Fire Department Capital Purchase Request Chief Olivas pointed the committee to a
March 14 memo concerning the purchase of a software program for overtime staffing. The
program was approved in the 2007 budget for a $39,000 expenditure, however, since then it has
been determined that this product will not meet the needs of the department. Chief Olivas
requested that those dollars be redirected to the upgrade of the Personal Alert Safety System
(PASS) devices currently in use by the department. Firefighter McFarland demonstrated the new
products and explained the improvements in the new devices over current ones. He also invited
committee members and the council to see the products in use at an upcoming training session.
Unanimous approval to reprogram dollars for purchase of PASS devices.
3. Financial Reports Kevin Fuhrer explained the February 23, 2007 Sales Tax Revenue report
and 4 charts that were included in the committee packet: City of Tukwila Comparative Sales
Tax Collections (December 2005 over December 2006); City of Tukwila Sales Tax By Month of
Collection Rolling Twelve Month Period; City of Tukwila Sales Tax By Type; and Sales Tax
Growth Year to Date By Month. Councilmember Robertson requested similar charts be created
excluding anyone-time revenues received. Councilmember Hernandez asked for clarification on
the format. Mr. Fuhrer agreed to accommodate those requests. Information Only.
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Mr. Fuhrer relayed to the committee the passage of the Sales Tax Sourcing legislation and the
signing of the bill by Governor Gregoire on Thursday March 22. He also reminded the
committee that King County sales tax will increase to 8.9% effective April 1.
Minutes prepared by: Rhonda Berry
Approved by Committee Chair Jim Haggerton:
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