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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09980ORDINANCE NO. 9980 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 STAFFING ORDINANCE BY ADJUSTING THE CLASSIFICATION OF THREE VACANT POSITIONS WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHEREAS, it is necessary to revise the position for the ultimate efficiency and functionality for the Wastewater Department; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: (brackets indicate matter being deleted, underscore indicates matter being added) SECTION 1. The following section captioned “Fire” “of Ordinance No. 9852, being the 2021 Staffing Ordinance, is amended as follows: Fire Fire Chief 1 Deputy Fire Chief 2 Assistant Fire Chief 3 Fire Captain \[32\] 33 Emergency Medical Officer 31 Fire Engineer \[39\] 36 Fire Inspector 2 Firefighter \[38*\]36 Administrative Technician 1 Senior Office Assistant 1 Total \[150\] 146 \[*Four (4) Firefighter positions were temporarily added August 2020 by ordinance, pending promotions in higher ranks. Authorized staffing will return to 146 once the promotions are accomplished.\] SECTION 2. The officers and staff of the City are authorized to perform any and all acts consistent with the intent of this Ordinance to implement the transactions described therein. SECTION 3. The foregoing reclassification is contingent upon and subject to final approval by the Civil Service Commission if such reclassification is appealed and shall become effective upon the date that such reclassification becomes final pursuant to Section 6-4-5, P.M.C. SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall be deemed to amend the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget with respect to the allocation of positions within the Civil Service Department and shall become effective on the date of final action by the Mayor and City Council. Action by City Council: Introduced and initial adoption of Ordinance by City Council on July 26, 2021 . Final adoption of Ordinance by City Council on August 9, 2021 . President of City Council Action by the Mayor: ☒ Approved on August 12, 2021 . □ Disapproved on based on the following objections: _ Mayor Action by City Council After Disapproval by the Mayor: □ Council did not act to override the Mayor's veto. □ Ordinance re-adopted on a vote of , on □ Council action on _______ failed to override the Mayor’s veto. President of City Council ATTEST City Clerk City Clerk’s Office Item # R-5 BACKGROUND PAPER FOR PROPOSED ORDINANCE COUNCIL MEETING DATE: July 26, 2021 TO: President Lawrence W. Atencio and Members of City Council CC: Nicholas A. Gradisar, Mayor VIA: Marisa Stoller, City Clerk FROM: Barb Huber, Fire Chief Marisa Pacheco, Human Resources Director SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 STAFFING ORDINANCE BY ADJUSTING THE CLASSIFICATION OF THREE VACANT POSITIONS WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: The Fire Department requests to adjust its staffing by downgrading two vacant Fire Engineer positions to Firefighter and upgrading one vacant Fire Engineer position to Fire Captain- Administrative. All positions are currently assigned to and will remain assigned to the Focused Response Unit (FRU) program. This ordinance will also abolish the temporary over hires approved by City Council on August 24, 2020, due to pending promotions at higher ranks and will return that staffing line to the normal authorized level. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: On December 28, 2020, Ordinance No. 9852 was approved by City Council. This Ordinance provided authorized staffing for Fiscal Year 2021. BACKGROUND: The FRU (units) represents a critical element in the Fire Department’s effective response strategy. The units are Basic Life Support units (BLS) that are assigned based on department and community needs. The units are not part of the minimum staffing each day. The FRU run much smaller F-150 pickup trucks with 2 personnel assigned, vs. an engine or ladder truck. These units have improved reliability for Advanced life support units/Fire Engines, improving critical apparatus in service times for high acuity calls. Another benefit of the FRU is the educational and mitigation efforts of these units. One FRU is designated as the lead on the Fire Department’s Community Risk Reduction function; this is specially staffed with DOTS (Directing Others to Services) personnel. This program is effective in connecting members to resources thereby reducing 911, ER and hospital re-admit utilization by over 50%. The Fire Department is requesting downgrade two of three vacant Fire Engineer positions on the FRU to Firefighter positions. The third vacant Fire Engineer 3 engineer positions on the FRU’s would be upgraded to an Administrative Fire Captain. The request for the Administrative Fire Captain is to provide supervision for the entire FRU program and staffing to include the DOTS focused FRU. The position would allow for improved training within the department, expansion of the DOTS program with community partners would help to target mitigation needs in the City. Our community partners have shown strong support for this program by assisting in providing staff (counselors and peer support) to meet citizens where they are and through financial support via grants. This ordinance also removes the four additional over hires at the rank of Firefighter approved by City Council in August of 2020 pending several promotions to higher ranks. The collective impact of these changes results in the Fire Department returning to authorized staffing levels without the temporary over hire of four firefighters previously approved by City Council. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The total salary cost for the three Fire Engineer positions is approximately $19,234.89 per month ($6,411.63 per position per month). The downgrade of two of the Fire Engineer positions to Firefighter will result in a savings of approximately $3,892.64 per month ($1946.32 per position per month). The cost of upgrading one Fire Engineer vacancy to Admin Fire Captain will be approximately $1,928.21 per month over current budget levels. Therefore, a savings of approximately $7,857.72 ($1,964.43 savings per month for four months) will be realized for the remainder of 2021 with a portion of those savings continuing into 2022 reduced by any step increases of newly hired Firefighters in 2022 etc. BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: None. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: The International Association of Firefighters Local #3 has been briefed on this change and did not have objections. ALTERNATIVES: The no action alternative would be to retain the current classification levels of the vacancies which is operationally undesirable and does not assist what has become a highly successful FRU and DOTS program to continue and expand critical services to the community. RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the Ordinance.