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 Findings, Recommendations and Plan of Implementation This section of the report describes a recommended process for moving forward with the potential implementation of a cooperative service delivery effort. The word potential is used here because a 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 bodies of the organization to continue with the process or not. The implementation begins with that step. Findings and Recommendations Based on the analysis completed by ESCI during this process, it is obvious that the study fire departments have historically worked well together and continue to do so today. While a certain level of cooperative efforts is in effect currently, there is additional room for improvement and increased efficiency. The City of Nowthen already receives fire protection through the City of Ramsey and the City of St. Francis is already using Ramsey Fire Department to provide fire department oversight through a contracted fire chief. It would make sense that these three organizations continue along the path of organizational integration and become a single operating entity. This can be accomplished by any of the methods discussed previously. Which method is ultimately chosen is a policy decision based squarely in the hands of the elected officials within each community. It is ESCI's belief that, upon the implementation of this three -city cooperative effort, the City of Bethel would be the next likely partner. Given that the city is currently surrounded on three sides by St. Francis, inclusion of this agency into the larger department would also be considered feasible. While the City of Oak Grove is large and diverse, the department could benefit from also joining the cooperative effort by eliminating the need for mutual and/or automatic aid, particularly in the western and northern portions of their existing response area. Plan of Implementation This section of the report describes a recommended process for moving forward with the potential implementation of a cooperative service delivery effort. The word potential is used here because a 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 bodies of the organization to continue with the process or not. The implementation begins with that step. mrrgency Services Cnnsulung page 123