COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, April 20, 2009, 10:24 a.m. - - - Res. 090226 - Approval of revised Five-Year Financial Plan covering FY 2010 through 2014. Bill 090212 - FY '10-'15 Capital Program. Bill 090213 - FY '10 Capital Budget. Bill 090214 - FY '10 Operating Budget. COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Anna C. Verna, Chair Jannie C. Blackwell Darrell L. Clarke Wilson W. Goode, Jr. Bill Green William K. Greenlee Curtis Jones, Jr. Jack Kelly James F. Kenney Joan L. Krajewski Donna Reed Miller Brian J. O'Neill Blondell Reynolds-Brown Frank Rizzo Marian B. Tasco - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Specialists 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
Good morning, everyone. This is a continued public hearing off the Committee of the Whole. The first department to testify is the Fire Department. Commissioner, good morning. Would you please approach the witness table. (Witnesses come forward.)
Good morning, Council President Verna and also members of Council. I am Everett Gillison, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, and it's a pleasure to be with you this morning. My office focuses on one of the Mayor's four defined goals: To enhance public safety and help Philadelphia become the safest largest city in the country. The operational activities of the Police Department, the Fire 3 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET Department, and the Philadelphia prison system are an integral part the effort to help achieve our goal of enhancing public safety throughout our city. Following my opening remarks, you will hear from the respective commissioners from each of those departments today. They will describe their considerable efforts to help us meet our goal to improve safety against the backdrop of the unprecedented financial challenges that confront our city and the nation as a whole. We have been presented with the considerable challenge of preserving or improving public safety while, at the same time, decreasing budgetary expenditures from Fiscal Year '09 and Fiscal Year '10. This task is very difficult since the overwhelming portion of the Police and Fire budgets consist of Class 100 expenditures. This means the only way to significantly impact these budgets, when 4 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET compared to Fiscal Year '09 obligations, is to decrease significantly the salary and expenditures for these two departments. We have been able to do that by leaving vacant positions unfilled, better managing overtime, and redeploying personnel. 5 million. We have been able to do this by carefully analyzing our existing and future staffing needs and making some very difficult decisions as to how to achieve the necessary reductions while, at the same time, moving ahead in making our city a safer place. 7 percent for Police. 9 percent thus far in Fiscal Year '09. Despite modest cuts in the Prison Class 100 request, this reduction was more than offset by the increased need for Class 200 and 300 funding to meet the needs of the expanding prison population. While no one wants to implement it, responsible leadership must plan, so if further cuts were to come to Police and Fire budget through the initiation of Plan B, service impacts would be severe. Any additional significant cuts would have to be made in the present Class 100 request. For Police, this means the 6 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET layoff of 256 sworn personnel. This, combined with the normal attrition of an additional 190 persons, would result in a total loss of 446 Police personnel in Fiscal '10. With the sworn hiring fees in effect, the impact would reach over into Fiscal Year 2011 and could result in a sworn strength reduction of almost 10 percent. To meet the Class 100 cuts for Fire, this would mean closing facilities; a closing of three engine companies, two ladder companies, and three medic companies is being projected at this time if this would have to come in. And I always want to emphasize that this is what none of us want to do. This would eliminate 112 uniform field positions and would require the complete closing of some fire stations and facilities. And, again, I emphasize this is not what we want to do. Depending on the rate of attrition, Fire layoffs and demotions 7 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET could also be necessary. So if further budget reductions are required and Plan B implemented, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to avoid some decrease in the level of service provided in the area of public safety. We have worked very hard to formulate a budget request for Fiscal Year '10 that results in the needed decrease in the overall financial obligation of the City while, at the same time, does not compromise our current level of public safety or deter us from our ultimate goal of making Philadelphia the safest largest city in the nation.
I thank you for the opportunity for this opening statement and opportunity to testify today. And, obviously, I'll be here all day; these are my departments, and we're going to be able to testify and give you the information that you need to make the decisions that you have coming forward.
Thank 8 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET you. DEP.
Thank you very much. Commissioner, welcome. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Thank you.
Kindly identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Good morning, Council President Verna and members of the committee. I am Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers. With me is: Deputy Commissioner Harrogate, Deputy Commissioner for Operations; Deputy Commissioner John Devlin, Deputy Commissioner for Technical Services; and Deputy Commissioner Dave Beatrice, Deputy Commissioner for Administrative Services. It is our pleasure to testify before the committee. The mission of the Fire Department is to deliver efficient and effective emergency services for the 9 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET purpose of minimizing the loss of life or property of the citizens and visitors of Philadelphia. We do this by providing fire-suppression services, hazardous material incident mitigation services, comprehensive fire prevention programs, fire-investigation services, and the delivery of high-quality pre-hospital emergency medical care and transportation on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week basis. Our goal is to make Philadelphia one of the safest cities in the country in terms of those services. This operating budget request totals $196,378,684. In Class 100, there is a net decrease after offsetting the funding added for pay raises by the savings obtained by the deactivation of five engine companies and two ladder companies in January of 2009 and by further reducing the number of staff and field positions by 31. In order to increase the safety of our residents, the Department is 10 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET committed to achieving the goal that every dwelling has at least one working smoke alarm on each level. As part of our Freedom From Fire Program, we are working with the Citizens for Fire Prevention Committee to obtain funding through various grants and donations to purchase large quantities of ten-year tamper- resistant smoke alarms. Our members will install these alarms properly in houses where needed. Any extra time to escape that these smoke alarms provide to our residents in houses means the difference between escaping unharmed or suffering severe burns or even death. Since, on average, 70 percent of all annual fire deaths occur in private residences without working smoke alarms, saturating high-risk areas with smoke alarms and educational materials should substantially reduce the number of fire deaths and injuries. It needs to be noted that if 11 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET further major budget reductions are necessary, the Department would be faced with implementing Budget Plan B. The effects on the levels of service that the Fire Department currently provides would be significant and painful. For example, an additional budget reduction in the area of $10 million would necessitate the deactivation of three engine companies, two ladder companies, and three medic units. That would: Eliminate an additional 112 uniform field positions. Some fires stations and facilities would close completely. Depending on the rate of attrition, firefighters would need to be laid off and officers to be demoted. The ability to provide required training classes, fire prevention, and our outreach programs would be severely impacted. The ability to respond to major 12 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET events and still provide adequate emergency-service coverage to the rest of the City would be severely reduced. With these reductions, response times are likely to increase. We are utilizing GIS (Geographic Information Services), time-modeling software to identify companies that can be deactivated with minimal operational impact and still provide a level of service sufficient to protect the public, our citizens, and meet the nationally-recognized standards. In addition to my testimony is attached -- in addition to my testimony is attached attachments that provide some preliminary information on the process to select the companies and stations to be closed.
That concludes my testimony. I would like to take this opportunity to thank this Council for its continued support of the members of the Philadelphia Fire Department. I speak not only for myself but for all of the members 13 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET of the Fire Department in saying that your support is, and has been, much appreciated. I will now be glad to answers any questions.
Thank you very much, Commissioner. How many uniform positions were you budgeted for in Fiscal Year '09? COMMISSIONER AYRES: In the fall of '09?
How about in the General Fund? COMMISSIONER AYRES: 2,395.
And can you tell us how many uniform positions you are requesting in FY '10? COMMISSIONER AYRES: 2,289 positions.
I'm sorry. How many? 14 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET COMMISSIONER AYRES: 2,289 positions.
I believe the information that we have is 2,217. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: I am David Beatrice, Deputy Commissioner for Administrative Services. The number in FY '10 for the total operating budget is 2,289; for the General Fund part of it, it's 2,217.
Right. So that represents a reduction of 178 uniform positions, correct? DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: Correct. That was taken into account. The FY '09 budget was first revised in '09 by 148 for the activations in January 2009. Now we're taking it further 31 positions in '10.
Commissioner, if Plan B of the contingency budget were to go into effect, it indicates that you will be deactivating 15 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET three engine and two ladder companies as well as three medic units. Can you tell us the locations of these deactivations? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Currently, we are looking at each and every engine company, each and every ladder company, and all 24-hour medic units. We have to look at those and do analysis on those companies to decide which combination would have the minimum impact.
And when do you think that analysis would be completed? COMMISSIONER AYRES: We expect that that analysis could be completed by the end of May.
How many vacancies do you currently have in your EMS unit? COMMISSIONER AYRES: In EMS? Currently, we have a total of 52 vacancies.
52? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes. 16 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
Well, how many do we have in that unit? COMMISSIONER AYRES: There's 52 vacancies, and 42 of those vacancies are actually vacancies that are used in our replacement factor. Ten actual seats in the field that are actually --
I'm sorry, Commissioner. I don't understand that. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Okay.
Could you be a little more explicit? You said you have 52 vacancies. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes. I'm going to --
I don't know what you mean about the 42 vacancies, whatever. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Okay, I'm going to read it for you. Okay, we have 10 field vacancies, 42 replacement-factor vacancies. 17 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET The replacement-factor vacancies are vacancies that we -- where we hire personnel over the exact amount that's due to work. They actually fill in for people who are off sick, they fill in for people who are on vacation, they fill in for people who have been injured. And right now, we don't have those replacement factors; we actually use overtime to replace people who are sick injured, et cetera. That's due to the inability to attract as many paramedics as we would like.
Commissioner, I've been trying to pay very close attention to your response, but to be very candid with you, I still don't understand about the 42. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Okay. There's a total of 240 paramedics, and that's 2 per unit, and they are needed to staff full-time and 12 peak-time units. 24 Currently, we have 230 paramedics to staff those units. Six 18 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET other paramedics actually work in administrative duties and special projects.
Okay. I will go back to my question, if you don't mind. You said, currently, we have 52 vacancies. COMMISSIONER AYRES: That's correct.
And you said something, which I absolutely did not understand, about 42 of those so-called vacancies. COMMISSIONER AYRES: The 42 --
Would you just explain it in a way that we could all understand it, please. COMMISSIONER AYRES: When we hire, we have a total number that's required to fill each and every seat of our units that are out there, and that is of the full-time units, and 12 are 24 system or part-time units. If we just look at that number 19 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET by itself, just that number by itself, that's going to be 240 vacancies. I mean, excuse me, 240 positions. What we have to do is, we have to hire over and above in order to support those people who go off sick, who go off on vacation, who do other things. And so the number that we have -- that we arrive at is based on a replacement factor of 4.2. So for every four people that we hire -- excuse me 4.8 we hire, if you would say a half of a part of a person, 0.8 people. So 4.8 is the multiplier that we use to get to that number. And that number now is 52, and 42 of those are replacement factor, 10 are actual vacancies that we have to fill with overtime. I apologize if it's not clear.
Madam Councilperson, the way that I look at it -- and, of course, when I came into this, I was really looking at the jargon, and it kind 20 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET of threw me. And I said, What's the easiest way to think about this? And I was able to come up with the fact that if you look at -- instead of talking about replacement factors, we have 52 positions that we can't fill because they're paramedic positions. In order to staff the numbers of bodies that we need in the field, we use that money for the -- basically, we use 42 of that money in order to staff it with others that are with firefighters. So the replacement factor is an offhand way of just saying that we're using --
The 42 have not been trained, though, to be -- DEP.
They're not paramedics; they are EMTs. They are firefighters in a way, I believe. But we have to use the money in order to make sure that we are staffing to the level that we can provide the service to the public. So there is the technical 21 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET definition of the replacement factor. We try to make sure that we're handling it responsibly, but it's really that we're using the money for the unused positions to staff to the appropriate level.
On Section 45, , it does appear that we have budgeted positions of 280 for paramedics. And also, if you'll bear with me a minute... Also 92 for -- out of firefighter EMTs. It's confusing to find out just how many we have. COMMISSIONER AYRES: The EMTs -- the EMT budget is for firefighters who staff basic life-support units.
Okay. So you are budgeted for 280, not 240. COMMISSIONER AYRES: The actual budget is 288. There's 280 paramedics budgeted for, plus 8 in the Aviation Fund.
So how many of those are filled? 22 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET COMMISSIONER AYRES: It's -- 236 positions, 236 are actually filled. And it leaves us with the 52 vacancies.
Commissioner, do you have any indication as to why we have such a large number of vacancies in that particular unit? COMMISSIONER AYRES: The vacancies are due to the national shortage of paramedics. It's a continuing problem. We have been doing different things to try to remedy that, and we're going to continue to hire and put classes into the field.
Do we presently have a class? COMMISSIONER AYRES: We just graduated a class March 13th. We graduated 13 members. They are currently preparing to staff those units. We have 20 on the list right now. And, hopefully, by the end of the fiscal year maybe -- by the end of the fiscal year, we'll have a class going 23 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET through, hopefully, of about 15.
That's good to hear. How does the salary level of paramedics and EMTs compare with what other jurisdictions are paying? COMMISSIONER AYRES: I think I have a schedule. I have a chart that kind of shows that for you. In Philadelphia, the paramedics earn $40,036 annually. That does not include any overtime that they work. In Washington, D.C., their paramedics earn $48,732. In Baltimore, paramedics earn $33,433. In Houston, Texas, paramedics earn $38,537. So we're pretty much in the middle of a range.
I see that there are a number of Councilmembers that want to be recognized, so I'll do what everybody else does and I'll come 24 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET back on the second round.
Thank you. Good morning, Commissioner, and the rest of the deputy mayors. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Good morning.
You know, I'm sitting here, thinking about last year's budget process. I think if I went back and got last year's testimony and conversation, it kind of sounds the same. We weren't dealing with these big financial crisis last budget, and we were talking about shortages of paramedics, and we tried to appeal to you to go outside and find them if you couldn't find 'em here locally. But it pretty much mirrors a year ago, before we had significant problems. Am I correct that we're in kind 25 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET of the same ballpark as we were a year ago? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yeah. The shortage has not been relieved across the country, so we still have the same situation. However, we have done various things as asked by Council and as agreed to during those sessions. We've done various things. One of the things that we talked about was the recruitment, and we have a brochure that we've prepared that goes out to not just Pennsylvania but to other jurisdictions around the country. Also, we have a battalion chief who we have assigned to go out to different schools. They go to the schools, they talk to the enrollees, and they encourage them over the course of their schooling to come to Philadelphia. We have been successful. We have had many who are on the list currently and who we've graduated -- the last two classes, 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET about paramedics, and they've actually come onboard. As a matter of fact, one of the persons that you gave me down in New Jersey, he was in the paper, he works for us now. So we've gone out and we've done those things as asked.
That's good. 11 So am I hearing -- maybe you can 12 bring me current. If today, a young man 13 or woman from Bucks or Montgomery County 14 or New Jersey wanted to work for you as a 15 paramedic, would -- what is the issue 16 today with the residency requirement? 17 COMMISSIONER AYRES: The 18 residency requirement was relaxed. There 19 is no residency requirement to get onto 20 the list now. They still have a six-month 21 period to move in. 22 Also, one of the things that 23 we've done, and we have that in place 24 already, was through Personnel making sure 25 that we have continuous enrollment. 27 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
One of the points I think that is still a concern of many applicants is, are they treated as experienced paramedics when they come here, or are they starting at ground zero? COMMISSIONER AYRES: They're treated as paramedics who come into the Philadelphia Fire Department system, and they receive the Philadelphia Fire Department training. And whether you're a new paramedic that just came out of a school and Einstein or some other school, or if you're an experienced paramedic who came to us from Nebraska, you get the same experience.
Is it necessary, Commissioner, to reinvent the wheel to have them go through a -- if they're experienced and have been on the street for ten years, don't you kind of think that they know what they're doing, and that could be abbreviated, the training for those? I'm not suggesting 28 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET that they don't need to understand the policies of the Philadelphia Fire Department, but saving a life in Nebraska is about the same as saving one in Philadelphia. So could the process be shortened? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Well, one of things that we want to be sure of is that we have the same professional, high-quality work from each and every paramedic that goes through the doors at the Academy. And that process is not only to ensure that they know rules, regulations, the different things that they'll experience on the streets of Philadelphia. Many of them may not have had a save but only have been a paramedic. When you come into Philadelphia, you're going to see all of the distasteful, the ugly things, and we want folks to be prepared, but we also want them to have the bedside manner and all of those things that's necessary to give top-quality service to 29 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET our citizens. And that's what we do.
Good. Commissioner, you were a battalion chief, right? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes, sir.
One of your proposals is to eliminate a position that's, I believe, an aide to the battalion chief? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes, sir, a battalion chief aide.
Describe the duties of a battalion chief aide. COMMISSIONER AYRES: A battalion chief aide has various duties, among them to be the communications point for the --
Back up. Start where the bell rings. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Start where the bell rings? They get into the car and they drive the battalion chief to the fire 30 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET ground or to the event where they have to go to, whatever it is, emergency event. What they do is, they focus and they drive and make sure that the chief gets there. When they get there, they assist the chief and establish the command at the fire ground. They immediately start to -- or continue to monitor the radio system. And they do any other things that the battalion chief may request.
Did your aide make you more effective, efficient, and safer? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Absolutely.
So I think what I'm hearing is that it's an important position in the Fire Department, because when -- the reason I wanted you to go back when the bell rings, I think a battalion chief is doing a lot of mental stuff. (Timer bell rings.)
And are we talking about the battalion chief driving 31 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET himself to the scene of a fire? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes. And when we eliminate those positions, the chief would focus on driving him or herself to the fire.
Well, it doesn't sound to me like a really good idea, because if a battalion chief, in my eyes, is focusing, A, maybe helping the driver to negotiate through traffic -- you're talking about the average response time for battalion chief, five minutes? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Somewhat.
Okay. I think that battalion chief could use that time to prepare himself to be the manager at the fire scene rather than worrying driving a emergency vehicle with lights and sirens through traffic; wouldn't you think? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Well, I understand what you're saying, that if you're driving a vehicle, you need to be focused on getting the vehicle from Point 32 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET A to Point B; that would be your task, and I would suggest that that's the goal, to make sure that you get there. The one thing that we are looking at is a communications company where, when that battalion chief gets on the scene, they would engage the communications company and have the other functions supplied at the same.
Commissioner, if there's a way -- you know, I've been around the block a couple of times and don't pretend to know what you do, but all I can tell you is, I've heard a lot about this aide being eliminated, that it may be not a good idea because, because other fire companies throughout the nation have eliminated that aide, and I think that you know that that aide has been restored. Because that battalion chief -- and you were one -- knows that when you're racing with lights and sirens, a battalion chief driving a fire vehicle, in my opinion, would be thinking about what 33 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET they're going to do, what they're not going to do. And I think that's a good investment in Fire Department money to keep the aide for the battalion chief. So that's just this councilman appealing to you based on the fact that I've had a lot of conversations. But, you know, it's common sense, common sense. A high level manager that's about to battle a fire needs that time to prepare himself, and that aide is a very relevant part of that process. Thank you, Madam Chair.
You're welcome. COMMISSIONER AYRES: We'll look at it.
Thank you, Madam President. Good morning, everyone. DEP.
Good morning. 34 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
First of all, Commissioner, I just want to thank you for your help in things I've been involved with and probably with all Councilmembers in your department, distributing smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors at various events we have. So thank you very much. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Thank you very much.
Just to follow up a little bit on Councilman Rizzo's questions. Just so I'm clear here, I know in your written statement, you say "the equivalent of battalion 17 chief aide," and then you have in 18 parentheses "firefighter positions." 19 That's all the battalion chief aides are 20 going; is that basically what that means 21 or -- 22 COMMISSIONER AYRES: No. What it means is that during the day, we would ensure that battalion chiefs' aides were working and that position was intact. 35 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
Mm-hmm. COMMISSIONER AYRES: In the evening, those aides would actually not -- the battalion would not have the availability of those aides, and they would be working in a company.
Okay. What's the reason for that? COMMISSIONER AYRES: The reason is purely economical.
Okay. So you have -- they're working -- that person would be only doing it half the time; other times, they would be doing something else. Is that basically what we're talking about? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes.
Okay. Again, I don't know everything and what that means, but I would agree basically 36 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET with Councilman Rizzo that it does seem to raise some concerns. Obviously, you know more about that than I do, but, you know, I understand the concerns he raised. Let me ask a general question. I know the President asked about positions unfilled in the EMS Unit. How many positions in the total Fire Department are there unfilled positions? How many? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Okay. For 52 for firefighter -- excuse me, for paramedics.
Mm-hmm. COMMISSIONER AYRES: And 35 on firefighters, 35 vacancies currently.
Okay. That's it in the whole department? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes.
Okay. Is that an unusual -- I know you said about the problems particularly in EMS. Is that an unusually high number for firefighters? COMMISSIONER AYRES: No, not for firefighters. Actually, what happened is, 37 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET with the January 5th deactivations, those firefighters and companies that were deactivated actually went to fill vacancies in other companies and reduce the overtime that we were spending.
Mm-hmm. Okay. Thanks. On , you talk about, in your written testimony, about removing from the FY '10 budget a little over a million dollars for a one-time purchase of flashlight, personal escape rope for each member. It says "per the labor contract award," so you're not going to be providing that. Could you tell me what kind of problems that causes both as far as the labor rules contract and -- COMMISSIONER AYRES: No, sir. Actually, it is going to be provided.
Mm-hmm. COMMISSIONER AYRES: But we won't have to provide it twice. So that's why it was removed, so that we're actually 38 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET providing that.
Oh, you don't have to provide it twice, I'm sorry. I got lost there, okay. COMMISSIONER AYRES: So once it's done, it's not something that has to be replaced over and over. It's in service, so we can take it out of the budget.
Oh, okay, all right. So you did it in '09 so you don't have to -- COMMISSIONER AYRES: Correct.
Okay, I'm sorry. I just got confused by the way that was written. Okay, thanks. All right, the EMS issue. I know you said, like, for example, when you had the cutback in some of ladders, you said that -- I'm pretty sure I'm stating this right, that you felt comfortable doing that 'cause the number of fires have gone dawn but that there are -- a lot of the responses are to emergency services. 39 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET Has emergency services gone up over the last couple of years, about stayed the same? What would that be? COMMISSIONER AYRES: EMS?
Yes. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes. EMS did rise over the last year. The previous fiscal year, we actually had a a small reduction, maybe a couple of hundred runs. Insignificant.
Mm-hmm. COMMISSIONER AYRES: But last year, it did go up. It was at 217,000 as far as incidents.
Any -- COMMISSIONER AYRES: It was at 215 the previous fiscal year.
Any rough idea why that would be? I mean, has there ever been any analysis as far as why that goes up? Are people just aware to call 40 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET more, or there's incidents that bring that on? Do you have any thought on that? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yeah. Most of those calls were for basic life-support services. That's the area of advanced life support versus basic life support, and that is where we see the uptick in the numbers.
Mm-hmm. Okay. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Folks are using the emergency room to get checked out --
Okay. COMMISSIONER AYRES: -- because of health-care issues and problems.
Excuse me, I'm sorry. I just want to piggyback on something you said.
We know that there has been an increase, but 41 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET hasn't the fee of transportation also been increased to a thousand dollars a run? COMMISSIONER AYRES: That's being prepared now. We're looking at the increase, which we're putting -- we put in the budget to offset some of the companies that we're going to be closing.
So of that thousand dollars per run, how much revenue does the City get from that? COMMISSIONER AYRES: We expect to bring in about $5 million additional, $5 million additional from that increase. It's in basic life support as well as advanced life support.
Oh, Commissioner, hold on a minute. So according to the information that's been provided to us, it indicates that emergency medical services, 36.9. So it's an increase of 6.2 million. DEP.
This 42 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET is the Five-Year Plan? DEP.
If you look at the Mayor's Operating Budget Summary, it's . I'm sorry. It's this book, the Mayor's Operating -- DEP.
Good morning, Madam President. 43 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
Steve Agostini, Budget Director. Yes, you're right. On , it does show from the current estimate a $6.2 million increase. However, on the appendix to Plan A that is in the Five-Year Plan, what we had anticipated as a gap closing amount from the fees that you had requested was 5 million. So what I will do is go back to the office and try to explain what that 1.2 million is. I believe that is for part of the fees that were already implemented this year, but let me go back and get an explanation for you when we come back for the discrepancy of the 1.2 million.
Councilman Greenlee. 44 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
I just have one more question, Madam President, if I may. Thank you. On , Commissioner, of your testimony, you talk about the -- what your goal is for response time. And you talk about the national standard of nine minutes. Whereabouts are you now on that, would you say, on average? COMMISSIONER AYRES: On response time, we're about 76 percent of that.
So 76 percent of the time, you're within nine minutes. What kind of things would you do to bring it up? I mean, what kinds of things do you see doing? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Some of the things that we would need to do is, one, look at our dispatch system and look at the ability to have a GPS, AVL, and a better organized dispatch system as 45 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET related to priority dispatch. It will bring some improvement. But the major improvement to actually meet that mark would be putting more medic units into the system.
Okay. That's what I was going to say, probably the pure number of people, right? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Madam President. Deputy Mayor, Commissioner, and Deputy Commissioner, good morning. I kind of go back to my days of sitting on that side of the table, when I was going after my particular budget, and remembering how sometimes you had to put 46 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET forth the information that you didn't always want to and ask for things or not ask for things based on budgetary constraints that you really wanted. Let me, in that frame of mind, ask you this question: If there were no 8 budget crisis, would you be considering closing firehouses and laying people off at this point? DEP.
Quite frankly -- Everett Gillison, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. Councilman Jones, the answer to that question is really twofold. One, we don't want to close fire stations; that's why it's in Plan B. And we don't think that we'll have to close fire stations. We are committed to making sure, much like we did with the previous matter, that we didn't lay off not one firefighter because of our commitment to jobs and our commitment to making sure that the people are safe. The budget reality is that we 47 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET have to, but if there was no crisis out there, obviously, we would not be considering closing the stations. We would be considering, however, rebalancing the City, because it hasn't been done in years.
Now, Deputy Mayor Gillison, I'm the elected official here and politician now, and I want you to answer the question. (Laughter.)
If we had no 14 budget crisis at this point, or if there was a magic part of Stimulus money that came from Washington, would we be talking about closing firehouses, Commissioner, as we speak? COMMISSIONER AYRES: If funding was there, we wouldn't be talking about closing firehouses.
Now, my second -- if that being the case, why wouldn't we be talking about rebalancing? Because we have a pretty good system this 48 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET place, right? DEP.
We have a good system, we have one of the best systems, we have one of the best fire systems in place. What we do have to do is --
I got that part. I -- believe me, you're beating me over the head with Plan B. I just want to talk about if there were no need to cut 12 percent. 13 DEP.
We wouldn't 15 be tinkering with one of the best fire- 16 response systems, correct? 17 DEP.
I would say the answer is both because we do have to tinker with it. The reason is, is because we have to anticipate things that we have not been able to get to, which is 49 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET population shifts. We've got to get with where we're building now, what's the age of the areas. And we have to deal with that. And in some places where we currently have fire stations, we may not need them, but we have to find out where we're going.
So the answer really is: Yes, we do have to tinker with it to see where we need to be in the 21st century.
You got to understand that Charlie McPherson is fierce with that time clock. DEP.
So shorter is better, all right? Having said those two things, I remember the Mayor, in the budget address, saying to us that Police and Fire would be held harmless. Why are we today talking about Fire being reduced again? DEP.
We're only 50 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET talking about Fire being reduced in the areas if Plan B comes out. Fire is going to have to be tinkered with --
But what I heard my mayor say was that in this fiscal year, there would be no tampering with Police and Fire 'cause I remember, I was at the press conference. DEP.
Because we have to plan in the event that we don't get the revenue that's needed in order to fund the budget. We have to tell you, I think, consistently so you'll understand what it means if don't get the revenue.
Yeah, we are a little thickheaded here in Council; you've made that clear. (Laughter.)
But we're going to be as bulldog-stubborn about the things we care about, and we care about 51 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET fire safety. And I'm going to ask you this: From this time last year, how many engine companies have been closed and how many positions eliminated from this time last year? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Five engine companies, two ladder companies, and 148 positions.
So 148 positions. This time next year, under Plan B -- DEP.
Because I go with President Verna's math. I just want -- not 0.2, not 0.8. How many positions are we looking at eliminating over the next fiscal year? DEP.
In addition 52 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET to -- COMMISSIONER AYRES: 112.
So I go back to my original question. We have the best fire-response system anywhere, and we're talking about reducing it close to 300 positions in one fiscal year, and we don't think that that's going to have an effect on public safety? DEP.
Councilman, I think that the -- the difference that I would state to your question is, the answer is: Yes, it would, but we don't have to go there if Plan A is adopted.
So, therefore, to me, it's -- if we get to Plan B, we're all in a position that we don't want to be, but we have to plan. 53 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
All right. I'm going to remain optimistic that we won't have to touch this. DEP.
Now, as we start talking about public safety, has the pain -- and this is a word that has become universally understood by all members of government now. Has the pain been equally distributed among the public safety departments? Or, based on what I'm reading, has it been disproportionately applied to the Fire Department? DEP.
It's been targeted, so I don't -- and I would not say "disproportionately," but I would say it's been targeted in areas to make sure that we keep a level of safety for the City. (Timer bell rings.)
I'll repeat the question differently, Deputy Mayor. If we look at prisons, are they hiring? DEP.
Prisons 54 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET has hired in order to --
Yes. Has Police received any layoffs or closing of stations? DEP.
Okay. But Fire has. That would make them not equal. DEP.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Can you tell me, under Plan B, 55 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET what will close? What are you closing under Plan B? COMMISSIONER AYRES: Three engine companies and two ladder companies.
Which engine companies -- COMMISSIONER AYRES: And three medic units.
Which engine companies, which ladder companies, which medic units? COMMISSIONER AYRES: We are evaluating all companies in the Fire Department. We have not made that decision.
When you make that decision, please provide it to the Chair, because, before I vote on a contingency, I want to know what it is you're proposing to close. COMMISSIONER AYRES: Yes, sir.
Secondly, if you turn to the chart that the Council President was talking to you about, 56 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET Section 45, , I'm very confused by it. You mentioned that there are 42 firefighter EMTs kind of serving as paramedics? When I -- is that right or wrong? DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: The 42 are paramedic positions. They would be used -- we need 240 paramedics to man the system 24/7. The 42 would be above that number so while any of the 240 were off, you would have that person working there on straight time. If they're not there, we bring in a paramedic on overtime.
Okay. I still don't understand -- just look at the increment run January '09 and explain to me, of the 211 fire paramedic -- fire service paramedics, are some of those that we're paying for under that category, EMTs? DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: No. 24 They're all paramedics.
Okay. So 57 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET then I look at firefighter EMTs, and it says three. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: Right. The firefighters are not detailed strictly to a BLS medic unit. If you look back in the firefighting section...
, Section 45? DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: Right. Thank you. There's 1338 firefighters --
Right. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: We have 1440 on the (indiscernible) run.
Right. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: So just based on that analysis, you're over -- they would cover the 92 vacancies back on 58 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET . The other way of doing it, we could charge 92, taking 'em out of Division 1 and listing them in 5.
Okay. Well, where are they working? DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: They're working at the fire stations. Every day, they would get detailed into a BLS unit, but they're assigned to an engine company or a ladder as opposed to a medic unit.
Okay. Then they go out with the medic unit when there's a -- because that day you need -- DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: Right. They usually have a four-day tour.
Okay. So of the 1440, 42 people are -- DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: I would say -- no. Out of the 1440, hundreds of them are EMTs. And they work on a 59 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET rotating basis --
Okay. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: -- so it's not these 42 or these 92. It's out of these hundreds on a rotating basis you would fill in.
So you're not talking about 42 people; you're talking about, like, 42 men a day doing this out of the hundreds. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: The 42 --
But a different 42 every day. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: The 42 are on the paramedic side, paramedics.
Well, I thought you said there were -- DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: There are 92 EMT budgeted positions in Division --
Right, but the testimony was there were 42 EMTs filling in for paramedics. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: No. It was 42 vacant budget paramedic positions. 60 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET We fill them in with paramedics, is our first choice.
But that's your first choice. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: And it usually works out that way. We bring another paramedic in on overtime. If something is happens right away, it might be a chance it would be a firefighter, but you would still have a paramedic on the ALS unit and still remain in the ALS unit.
So you'll have one paramedic but maybe not two. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: In some situations. Our choice is to have two.
Well, I guess what we're trying to get to is how often that happens, because there was -- I'm not making this up. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: Mm-hmm.
We take very good notes. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: Mm-hmm. 61 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET
Only in emergencies, only in emergencies. COMMISSIONER AYRES: The way we staff --
I mean, I'm just curious. (Indiscernible; parties talking over each other.)
It can happen in emergencies. COMMISSIONER AYRES: It can happen in emergencies, but the way we staff is, we try to staff our paramedic units with two paramedics. We can't staff with one paramedic and one emergency medical technician. If the staffing levels of paramedics went that low, we would staff that way. But it does not always happen. It's not something that's very frequent.
Well, how often -- all right. Just provide -- I 62 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET don't want to waste time on this. Provide to the Chair exactly how often that happens and how it works. Now, you look at -- you've got -- it looks like to me like for the increment run, you're under general -- sorry, Section 45, , you've really got 237 people. (Timer bell rings.)
And you're asking us to budget for 394 people. So my question is: How many of these positions, given your previous testimony that a new class of 15 may start in July, how many of these positions are you actually going to be able to fill in FY '10? COMMISSIONER AYRES: We expect to put on a class that the vacancies are at 52, as we stated.
That's for paramedics. You've also got 92 firefighter-EMTs at $5 million. How many of these positions, 394, are you going to 63 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET fill during FY '10? DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: There are not 92 vacancies in the firefighters. You have to offset it by the number we are over in Division 1. So right now, if you do that, we would have 35 -- 35 firefighter vacancies, 52 paramedic vacancies. We hope to bring in to 10 lower the 52 down. That would be your 11 number. 12
So why are we 15 budgeting for 52? DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: 52 would provide the --
Yeah, but we're not going to hire them. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: But that -- your choice would be either budget for 52, take them out of the budget, and then you would have to increase the amount of overtime required. It's an offset. You do it one way or the other. You have the 64 4/20/09 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - FY '10 BUDGET replacement factor or --
Let's do some honest accounting. I mean, you're paying the overtime now. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: Which comes out of the money budgeted for the 52. You could look at it that way, either way.
Well, let's look at the way it actually happens instead of a fantasy. DEP. COMM. BEATRICE: We're being hopeful.