Concerns by Both Sides Over Independence of Everett Fire Department Study

At Wednesday night’s Everett City Council meeting Mayor Ray Stephanson and his staff provided briefings on several proposals to reduce a $13 million dollar gap in the 2015 budget. If action isn’t taken that gap stretches to more than $19 million dollars over several years. The ideas proposed at the council meeting include increases in utility taxes, business license fees, planning fees and the formation of a Transportation Benefit District that could add $20 to the cost of car tabs for Everett residents or an increase in the sales tax for everyone who shops in Everett. The Mayor told the council that these are the early steps in phase one of the structural deficit efforts and the second phase begins with a study of three of the largest departments of city spending. The first department to be studied will be the Everett Fire Department. The city is preparing a request for qualifications for a consultant to provide an efficiency assessment of the Everett Fire Department. Before the meeting Everett Fire Chief Murray Gordon said he was looking forward to the study. “I absolutely welcome it,” said Gordon. “I think its important to look internally to make sure we have the best use of our resources.” Gordon, who is a past President of the Washington Fire Chief’s Association says he’s served on various review committees both in Washington State and nationally and there is an unbelievable amount of information that Everett can learn from other fire chiefs.

During the briefing, a council member asked why the Fire Department was selected first. City Administrator Debra Bryant told the council the Everett Fire Department has a culture that hasn’t changed in a very long time. As an example she offered the argument that while 80% of the calls are medical, the city is still buying huge fire trucks and sending them out on medical calls. “There appears to be staffing and service delivery with the fire department right in our face,” said Bryant. At one point Bryant seemed to contradict what was spelled out in the request for qualifications saying, “We don’t want someone who has come up through the ranks.” That seemed to be in direct conflict from item #1 in the desired qualifications section of the request for qualifications, “The consultant, or a member of the consultants team, should have experience as a uniformed member (preferably as a Chief, Deputy Chief or equivalent) of a fire or emergency medical response agency.” After that comment both members of the Everett City Council and the Mayor expressed opinions that the study should be conducted by various experts who are independent.

The report would have three phases with phase one being a preliminary analysis of the Everett Fire Department’s management and operations including a Risk Assessment and a Standard of Cover study. This phase will also determine short and long term opportunities for cost, management and operational efficiencies to be reviewed in phases 2 and 3. Phase 2 would evaluate short-term opportunities and phase 3 could cover long term opportunities.

After the meeting members of IAFF Local 46, (the union that represents Everett Firefighters) said they were concerned about the comments made by City Administrator Bryant. One union member said the study appeared to be more about getting ammo for upcoming labor negotiations and not really about public safety. “This study is not driven by the fire department but by the Mayor’s staff,” said Association President Paul Gagnon. “We’re all in favor of a risk assessment and if its done honestly with real experts they may find we actually need help. They shouldn’t go into this just assuming there is fat to be cut.”

Right now there is no defined amount of money that will be spent or even set aside for the study. While the initial hope was to have the study completed by the end of the year, the final timeline has not been established.

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