Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Chief Groves stated that the next step towards functional consolidation involved the integration of the administrative and support functions of the two fire departments. He further stated that the consolidated administrative functions included the fire marshal’s office, training programs, ambulance billing, the designation of a single deputy chief to oversee shift operations, and an alignment of each department's special operations. He proceeded to describe the remaining elements of the proposed functional consolidation. Chief Groves stated that the governance evaluation of the proposed functional consolidation might be performed under a metro-governance model or the formation of a special purpose district. He further stated that the ESCI study had favored the creation of a special purpose district. Mr. Clark thanked Chief Groves for his presentation and commended him and his staff for their efforts regarding the proposed functional consolidation. Mr. Clark noted that Chief Groves and other Fire/EMS staff had recently had the opportunity to review the Tualatin Valley Fire Department's district model and asked how the service delivery elements of that district-based model differed from a municipality model. Chief Groves maintained that the service delivery levels for residents from the two models were essentially the same. Mr. Clark appreciated the savings that had been suggested by the personnel efficiencies that were involved in the functional consolidation. He remained cautious but optimistic regarding the remainder of the functional consolidation and hoped that both agencies would proceed in incremental steps toward full consolidation. Chief Groves clarified for Mr. Clark that the first steps of the functional consolidation of the Eugene and Springfield Fire Departments would come in the form of an intergovernmental agreement similar to the one that had been used in 2007, to consolidate emergency response capabilities. He expressed that the remainder of the functional consolidation would indeed be carried out using a "phased-in approach" for each main element of the functional consolidation. Ms. Ortiz recognized that Springfield Fire Chief Dennis Murphy was in attendance at the meeting as was EWEB Commissioner Bob Cassidy and the president of the local Eugene firefighter’s union. Ms. Ortiz maintained that the one of the main challenges faced by both Eugene and Springfield was that one part of the community often wanted "to grow faster than the other." She hoped that such a challenge would be carefully considered as the functional consolidation progressed. Chief Groves recognized Ms. Ortiz's concerns and noted that he and other staff had carefully considered the growth management policies of communities similar to Eugene/Springfield such as Livermore and Pleasanton, California. Ms. Ortiz asked if compensation for leadership positions within a consolidated fire department would increase. Chief Groves responded that compensation for leadership positions within a merged organization would fall in line with the wage parameters already set up by similarly sized fire departments. Chief Groves expressed that a merger of the Eugene and Springfield fire departments would mean significant cost savings to each organization which would result from increased efficiencies and the elimination of various redundancies. Ms. Ortiz thanked Chief Groves for his responses and input. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 20, 2010 Page 2 Work Session