Agenda - Council - 08/13/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ramsey, Nowthen, St. Francis, Oak Grove, and Bethel, Minnesota Feasibility Study for Shared or Cooperative Fire and Emergency Services • Implementing a Regional Capital Replacement Plan • Establishing Shared Apparatus and Equipment Purchasing Practices • Sharing Personnel Recruitment and Retention Efforts • Developing a Regional Training Program • Developing a Regional Code Enforcement and Life Safety Education Program • Developing Unified Standard Operating Guidelines/Procedures Each of the above is discussed in detail and implementation guidance is provided. ESCI recommends that, regardless of decisions that may be made about any greater degree of future unification of the agencies, the listed functional shared services approaches be implemented. ESCI also evaluated the opportunities that exist for higher level integration. It is important to point out that a high level of collaboration currently exists between the Cities of Ramsey, Nowthen, and St. Francis, constituting what is essentially already a unified organization. The City of Nowthen receives fire protection from the City of Ramsey, and the City of St. Francis is receiving administrative oversight and management from the contracted use of the Ramsey Fire Chief. Should the existing three -city cooperative effort be taken to a higher level, the City of Bethel would be the next likely partner, in large part because the city is surrounded on three sides by St. Francis. The City of Oak Grove could also benefit from joining the cooperative effort, resulting in multiple benefits. In many larger cooperative efforts projects in which ESCI participated, cost savings are realized when multiple agencies combine that have a large number of career personnel. Financial advantages may also be found when re -deployment of personnel and facilities accommodates a reduction in the number of fire stations and/or people. In this study area, ESCI finds that station locations are appropriate and necessary to provide appropriate levels of coverage, so no reductions are feasible. Further, using a paid - on -call staffing model in all of the fire departments, financial savings cannot be accomplished by reducing personnel numbers. Based on these findings, financial advantages of full unification are limited. However, many valuable gains in terms of increased efficiency and operational effectiveness will result from the adoption of the functional shared service initiatives that are offered. The report concludes with a general discussion on the overall implementation process should the entities make a decision to move forward. Part of this process includes the policy decisions necessary to determine, based on the results of the study, whether there is sufficient desire among the political tRreergrricy Services Cobol ing page 7