AgdaPkt 2020-10-26 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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From: DAVE RAYMAKER To: GRP -City Council Cc: FD -Greg DaCunha Subject: Budget cuts to the RCFD Date: Monday, October 26, 2020 11:45:53 AM To the Members of Redwood City Council, It has come to my attention that the Redwood City Council is considering major budget cuts to the Fire Department, cuts that would have a detrimental effect in the ability of the RCFD to provide the level of service the Citizens of Redwood City deserve. The amount of cuts that I have been told is roughly 2 million dollars = closing of Engine 9. Now I am not a budget person and I do not have an understanding of how the City of Redwood City got into financial problems, what other city departments are being asked to cut nor do I have any information on the short vs long term financial outlook for the City of Redwood City; what I do have is 32 years of experience with the RCFD and a historical perspective to the situation. Let me provide you with a little bit of historical perspective. In 1980 when I started my career in the Redwood City Fire Department the suppression staffing of the department was basically the same as it is today. We staffed 4 - Fire Stations which included 4 - Fire Engines, 1 - Fire Rescue vehicle, 1 - Fire Truck and 1 - Battalion Chief. We also had enough extra personnel that when firefighters took vacation or were off sick/injured we had enough personnel to fill the vacancies in daily staffing without the need to hire back on overtime. At that time we were only basic first aid providers but eventually we upgraded our training to the EMT level (Emergency Medical Technician). Oh how the times have changed. The RCFD now staffs 5 - Fire Stations which includes 5 - Fire Engines, 1 - Fire Truck and 1 - Battalion Chief. The department has a specialized response vehicle for SCBA air refill capabilities and supports a marine/fire boat response. All of the front line apparatus are staffed with a Fire Paramedic and every other member of the company is a EMT and this is all done with the same amount of personnel as the department had in 1980. In addition, the RCFD now has entered into an agreement with the City of San Carlos to provide fire protection services to the residents of San Carlos. The firefighter of today is better educated, better trained, better equipped and is required to handle many more types of calls for service than in earlier years and as such is much busier than ever before. As the population grows, industry grows and the make-up of the community changes, so does the increase in call volume for the fire service. In that regard, Redwood City has seen a transformation of its downtown and commercial corridors. I submit to you that the policies of the Council and the City of Redwood City are responsible for the growth of the community and the increase in calls for service because of this growth. It seems a bit hypocritical to promote growth which will ultimately lead to more calls for service and then contemplate shutting down the Fire Engine that is stationed in the district where most of the growth and calls for service are taking place. Been there - done that........ During previous budget shortfalls the Fire Department "Browned out" Engine 9 in an effort to save money. I don't know if it saved any money, but I can tell you that it had a very severe and negative impact on the fire department and surrounding communities and this was way before all of the expansion and growth in the downtown area. First and foremost, the "Brown out" severely disrupted dispatching assignments in Redwood City and the surrounding communities. While the County Comm Center computers will fill the void left by Engine 9 closure, it will do so by taking another Engine from another district and or another City to fill that responsibility, leaving that district or community uncovered when it would have been assuming Engine 9 was in service. Redwood City can't expect other communities to bear the burden of Redwood City's budget decisions. While it's true that the local fire departments work together & share resources, they do have a responsibility to their own communities before they have a responsibility to others.