CC Minutes - 10/26/11 Work Session

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Mr. Pryor supported the merger, although he acknowledged the financial challenges the merger faced. He believed if such an approach was going to be successful anywhere in the organization it would be in Fire Services because the service was mission - driven. He offered his full support to the chief. He did not think the merger implied the department should do more with less, but rather that it provide a better level of services in a better way to better serve the community. He said the council needed to be thoughtful about how it provided the department with the resources it needed. He encouraged the chief to move forward. Mr. Zelenka commended Chief Groves' work. He said the savings realized from the merger were slightly better than anticipated and determined from Chief Groves that the FYI savings were on track to be realized. Mr. Zelenka asked if the process had gone as planned. Chief Groves acknowledged differing levels of employee acceptance for the merger initially, but when the two unions realized the scope of administrative support for the merger they became more serious about working with the department. Chief Groves believed fire fighters in the field had seen the impact of the merger through an increased margin for safety and improved scene performance, and for those employees that was where the "rubber met the road." Mr. Zelenka suggested the chief obstacle to the merger would be the different wages scales and benefits paid by the two cities. Chief Groves agreed, but said the wage gap was narrow and would narrow more in the future. Fire and human resources staff of both cities were meeting now to resolve some of those issues related to benefits. Responding to a follow -up question from Mr. Zelenka, Chief Groves said that neither city subsidized the other city; he reiterated that the wage gap was a small one. The issues to be worked out were benefits such as deferred compensation, which Springfield fire fighters received but Eugene fire fighters did not. If that benefit was added to the value of wages it brought Springfield compensation levels closer to Eugene's levels. He hoped to equalize wages and benefits without increasing costs. City Manager Ruiz added that personnel costs, while important, did not comprise the entire financial picture; he and Springfield City Manager Gino Grimaldi had charged Chief Groves to consider the merger from a more holistic financial perspective. Mr. Zelenka was open to a special district but his support depended on the form of governance. He opposed a special district that was not under the control of the two councils. Chief Groves indicated a special district was one of several options being discussed. Mr. Poling also commended Chief Groves. He shared Mr. Zelenka's concern about governance, and suggested the two councils begin to meet jointly to discuss that issue. He suggested Chief Groves have a separation strategy in place when he was about halfway through Step 3. He had faith that the two councils could work out a governance model and was open to suggestions about that topic. Responding to a question from Mayor Piercy, Chief Groves said he recently provided the same update to the Springfield council, who unanimously agreed to move forward while expressing some of the same concerns expressed by the Eugene council regarding governance. Mayor Piercy voiced support for a joint meeting where Eugene and Springfield councilors could share general thoughts about the merger without either body having to commit to a decision. Mr. Clark praised the leadership of the department and two unions. He expressed concern about the governance model because like other councilors he was concerned about a special district. He asked what the council could do to facilitate future conversations with Springfield about that topic. Chief Groves emphasized the importance of relationship building in tackling such challenging issues. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 26, 2011 Page 5 Work Session