South County Fire Authority Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 South County Fire Authority Strategic Plan

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the Fire Chief....1 Mission and Values...2 Department History Fire Department Organizational Chart..5 Strategic Planning Process Acknowledgements...7 Strategic Initiatives 8 Community Risk Reduction 9 Business Practices Value Members and Relationships 12 Operational Effectiveness..13 Workforce Development...14

3 MESSAGE FROM THE FIRE CHIEF On behalf of the men and women of the South County Fire Authority (SCFA), I respectfully present and submit the Strategic Plan. In 1999 the Tracy Rural Fire District and the City of Tracy Fire Department joined forces to create the SCFA. The primary driver of the consolidation was to protect property tax revenues and to improve service levels by eliminating duplicative overhead positions and positioning fire stations in areas that could cover both the City and the Rural District effectively. The saving that were realized were then used to increase service levels by increasing staffing at the rural stations, placing a paramedic on each fire apparatus, fully staffing a ladder truck and implementing a hazardous materials response program. The City Council and the Rural Fire District Board continue to make public safety their highest priority. In the past year the Rural District has increased staffing levels at both fire stations and both the District and the City approved the return of the Battalion Chief positions. Having a Battalion Chief on duty 24/7 increases operational effectiveness on emergencies and improves overall public and firefighter safety. The City also approved moving the fire prevention program back to SCFA which will increase firefighter and community safety. During the past year SCFA completed a comprehensive Standards-of-Cover study that evaluates service levels and determines future and replacement fire station locations. The study was used as a part of SCFA s strategic planning process where all elements of the organization were evaluated to develop a path forward based on community expectations and required resource allocations. The SCFA also negotiated a new ALS agreement with the San Joaquin County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency. Prior to the new agreement, the SCFA was prevented from responding to minor medical emergencies that often escalated into significant medical emergencies. The new agreement allows SCFA to respond to all medical emergencies within the jurisdictional boundaries. Today the Tracy Fire Department is a high-performing public safety agency with a highly trained and qualified workforce. Through our strategic planning implementation process the SCFA will continue to evaluate efficiencies and identify mechanisms to improve service levels as we strive to provide the best service levels possible. We hope that you view our Strategic Plan as indication of those continued efforts. Randall Bradley Fire Chief

4 OUR MISSION MISSION Respecting our traditions, we embrace progression in pursuit of excellence to proudly serve with honor, dignity and respect OUR VALUES Community Membership Progression Excellence Stewardship Relationships Collaboration Traditions Service Levels Fiscal Responsibility Engagement Health & Safety Innovation Operational Public Trust Education Respect & Dignity Best Practices Professionalism Environment Safety & Risk Professional Reduction Development Superior Customer Service Adaptive Leadership 2

5 DEPARTMENT HISTORY The newspaper headline read, Heart of Tracy Eaten by Flames! On the night of June 19, 1898, a major fire occurred. The fire, believed to have started in Ms. Minnie s Restaurant at 6 th and C Streets, quickly spread to an adjacent saloon. The only firefighting that was done consisted of a single hose line run from the Southern Pacific Rail Yard, but it was a futile effort. The fire was unstoppable. It grew into a huge conflagration, wiping out homes, a drugstore, saloons and other businesses over a four-block radius, including the Tracy Hotel. All of the years of hard work that had been put into building the town were destroyed on that fateful night. After this tragic incident, the citizens of Tracy knew there was no way the town would have a future without adequate fire protection. Another 12 years would pass, along with more devastating fire loss, before an organized fire department was established. After the incorporation of the city in 1910, it was determined that there was a need for the establishment of an organized fire department. The City of Tracy Fire Department was established under Ordinance Number 12 by the City of Tracy Board of Trustees on November 3, This ordinance also established the city s fire district boundaries. Tracy s firefighting force initially consisted of nothing more than bucket brigades from volunteers summoned during a fire. City Ordinance Number 60 was adopted on July 11, 1918, which created the formation of a paid fire department in Tracy. The City of Tracy Fire Department provided continual fire service to the community from a single fire station, Fire Station 1 in downtown Tracy until two additional stations were added in the 1980 s. 3

6 The Tracy Rural County Fire Protection District (TRFPD) was established in 1945 to protect the unincorporated areas surrounding Tracy. The service area of the TRFPD encompassed over 200 square miles. Geographically, the department served the areas of Banta, Lammersville, Carbona and New Jerusalem. In its early existence, TRFPD served the greater Tracy area from four fire stations staffed with a paid driver and a number of volunteers. The two agencies assisted one another through mutual-aid well into the 1990 s. On September 16, 1999, after decades of talks and two previously unsuccessful attempts, the City of Tracy Fire Department merged with the Tracy Rural Fire Protection District (TRFPD) forming the South County Fire Authority (SCFA). The SCFA was created to provide fire protection services to the entire jurisdictional area of both the corporate city limits and surrounding rural community. Employees of the Tracy Rural Fire District became employees of the City of Tracy with the City of Tracy maintaining day to day administrative control of the department. The Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JPA) between the City of Tracy and the TRFPD has remained in place since its inception in 1999, governing the organization in its present form. As the organization grows and evaluates the most efficient delivery of fire protection services, member agencies of the SCFA continue to explore governance alternatives to best serve the community. 4

7 FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART 5

8 STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS The South County Fire Authority knows that a successful organization is one that monitors and adapts to changing environments and a multitude of influences. The SCFA is committed to providing high-level allrisk emergency and non-emergency service to our community. In an effort to align our mission with community and department expectations, the organization conducts an assessment in the form of a strategic plan. The strategic plan serves as a living management tool to codify the shared mission into defined strategies, goals, and objectives. As a guiding document, the strategic plan focuses the organization on targeted goals and prevents the expending of energy on initiatives that do not support the department s mission and vision. In an effort to align the strategic plan with community and organizational needs, information was obtained from both external and internal stakeholders. In late 2016, the City of Tracy participated in the National Citizen Survey (NCS), presented by the National Research Center, Inc (NRC) in collaboration with the International City Management Association (ICMA). The NCS sought community input regarding all services, governance, and livability. Approximately 1,500 respondents completed the NCS survey. Community respondents reported a 91% approval rating of fire services in Tracy. In addition, 7 in 10 residents rated the overall feeling of safety in the community as excellent or good. To engage internal stakeholders, the process included reaching out to all members of the organization in strategic planning pre-meetings to obtain feedback on focus areas for the organization. To optimize input and attendance from personnel assigned to all shifts within the organization, a series of six workshops were held with members of labor and management. The following topics were discussed: In May of 2017 the department engaged in a Strategic Planning process to define organizational strategies for the next three years ( ). A strategic planning work team comprised of the IAFF Local 3355 Executive Board and the management staff participated in a two-day workshop on May 18 & 19, The work team followed the Applied Strategic Planning Model referenced by the National Fire Academy. As a result of the workshop, the team developed organizational values, redefined the mission statement and identified five strategic initiatives with associated goals for the Strategic Plan. Each of the five goals includes specific objectives to achieve the strategic initiative. As a living document, additional work teams will be assigned to complete the specific objectives and tasks of the strategic plan. 6

9 STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK TEAM Scott Arganbright, Battalion Chief Bobby Arnold, Captain Steve Bliss, Captain Randall Bradley, Fire Chief David A. Bramell, Division Chief Daniel Bunch, Firefighter/Paramedic Adam Dampier, EMS Manager Rick Doyle, Battalion Chief Michael Frederick, Captain Jackie Heefner, Executive Assistant Chris Martin, Battalion Chief Tad Neave, Captain Paul O Neal, Captain Andrew Sansaver, Captain Patrick Vargas, Division Chief 7

10 Strategic Initiatives Strategy 1 Community Risk Reduction Community Risk Reduction Strategy 2 Business Practices Strategy 3 Value Members and Relationships Strategy 4 Operational Effectiveness Strategy 5 Workforce Development 8

11 Community Risk Reduction GOAL 1 To reduce the risk to the community through fire prevention, company inspections, public education and fire code enforcement. Objective 1a: Transition all fire prevention services from Development Services to under the purview of the Fire Department. Complete the recruitment of Fire Marshal, Fire Inspectors, and Administrative support staff for the Fire Prevention Bureau Identify and procure records management system to track occupancies, schedule inspections, and perform annual and required inspections Communicate internal and external information flow paths to integrate Fire Prevention into fire department operations Enhance organizational efficiency and community transparency Implement permit and plan review process for internal and external customers Objective 1b: Develop company-level fire inspection and pre-incident assessment programs Identify occupancies to be included within a company-level annual fire inspection program Train personnel in the practices of annual fire inspections Assign fire companies inspection schedules Identify significant target hazards most in need of pre-incident assessments Objective 1c: Enhance department public education and community outreach programs Increase the number of community members accessing existing programs such as Learn Not to Burn, SAFE Home, and CARES. Identify project leaders for Water Watchers and CERT programs Identify new public education programs to further reduce community risk such as community CPR 9

12 Business Practices GOAL 2 Optimize the efficiency of business operations by evaluating and implementing improved current practices while maintaining the public trust. Objective 2a: Review current governance model and recommend improvements Review governance recommendations from LAFCo and previous studies Evaluate existing Joint Exercise of Powers agreement and identify and update outdated business practices Develop new streamlined governance model and provide recommendations to all applicable elected bodies Objective 2b: Develop marketing plan to promote services to the community Broaden the scope of the marketing/branding committee to include ongoing marketing efforts Create department social media platform using several mediums to promote department activities Enhance fire department web content and increase public accessibility to department forms, programs, and services Objective 2c: Operate in a fiscally responsible manner to sustain high service levels Develop expenditure forecasts based upon historical spending and projected budgetary needs Monitor budgetary expenditures throughout the fiscal year and report quarterly Do not implement new programs/projects without identifying a new funding source Explore workers compensation carve out program to minimize lost work time Objective 2d: Update department policies and procedures to reflect current practices Establish a department policy review committee to identify obsolete policies and those in need of updating Identify current practices not currently captured in policy and create new policies where appropriate Evaluate policies for consistency with state/federal law, MOU, and city personnel rules 10

13 GOAL 2 Optimize the efficiency of business operations by evaluating and implementing improved current practices while maintaining the public trust. Objective 2e: Explore workers compensation carve-out program to increase efficiency and return injured workers to active duty in short timeframes Schedule meet and confer meetings between the City and the Tracy Firefighters Association to discuss program parameters Codify specifics of carve out program in written agreement Educate and train staff on carve out program procedures Objective 2f: Increase the use of technology and data Replace existing records management system with software capable of managing incident reports, patient care reports, equipment inventory, occupancies, and inspection data Reestablish mobile CAD software on emergency apparatus equipped with automated vehicle locators (AVL) and capable of two-way communication with the dispatch center Evaluate mobile options for fire prevention field staff Purchase FireView GIS add-on to evaluate response performance in real time and model fire station locations 11

14 Value Members and Relationships GOAL 3 To promote an environment that embraces positive relationships through mutual respect, good communication and demonstrates that we value each other. Objective 3a: Promote collaboration between labor and management to facilitate inclusive decision making Conduct regular meetings between labor representatives and management personnel Hold bi-annual all-hands meeting to communicate department situation status and receive committee reports Objective 3b: Employ the use of committees to promote employee engagement Identify needs and create new committees where appropriate Seek a diversity of committee participants represented from all ranks Create standard format for committee reporting and information sharing Objective 3c: Increase emphasis on employee health, safety, and wellness Adopt safety practices consistent with NFPA 1500 Implement wellness program based upon preventative and proactive health Design department facilities consistent with NFPA standards to reduce health risk to personnel Implement field procedures that minimize exposure and reduce the risk of job-related cancer Implement Critical Incident Stress Management and Peer Support programs Objective 3d: Seek opportunities for off-duty activities for all members of the organization to build relationships Establish a department activities committee Create communication mechanism to announce department-wide activities 12

15 Operational Effectiveness GOAL 4 Promote operational effectiveness using innovative solutions and traditional practices to serve our community and workforce. Objective 4a: Develop an implementation plan consistent with the 2017 Fire Department Standards of Cover study Develop a department labor/management work team to review technical findings and prioritize study recommendations Review adopted response performance objectives and revise or expand where necessary Implement recommendations that will enhance performance and improve response times Objective 4b: Provide high-level basic and advanced life support services Train personnel on latest practices and procedures related to emergency medicine in the pre-hospital environment consistent with state, county and department EMS policy Implement industry leading Continuous Quality Improvement program consistent with ALS agreement Integrate patient care reporting into single records management system Evaluate feasibility of providing Advanced Life Support transport service Objective 4c: Evaluate effectiveness of Special Operations within the department Complete training of department Hazardous Materials Technicians to the Specialist level Integrate pending OES Hazardous Materials vehicle into department operations and policy Conduct personnel training inventory of department rescue technicians in the areas of heavy rescue, confined space, high and low-angle rescue Train sufficient personnel in special operations to meet community risk Objective 4d: Seek opportunities for regionalization and collaboration Evaluate all current mutual and automatic-aid agreements and update as necessary Meet with regional partners to determine opportunities for enhanced service delivery Adopt a governance model that simplifies the entering into regional agreements 13

16 Workforce Development GOAL 5 Enhance workforce development through proactively promoting and investing in education and training programs resulting in an effective workforce that is accountable at all levels. Objective 5a: Develop succession plans for all ranks from Fire Explorer to Fire Chief Evaluate minimum qualifications for each rank and update as necessary Create clear path to promotion for all ranks including task books where appropriate Provide opportunities for employees to stretch through out of class or special assignments Objective 5b: Secure a training facility Identify site and procedures for use of pending mobile training tower Integrate mobile training tower into department training Identify and purchase land for fixed facility site to include training tower, support facilities and training grounds Objective 5c: Develop comprehensive training program Establish and recruit Fire Training Officer position to manage and coordinate department training Complete all state mandated fire and EMS training Purchase training props that closely replicate emergency conditions Promote and support formal education within the organization 14