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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07 Public SafetyFebruary 11, 2012 PUBLIC SAFETY GOALS Public Safety Department Goals • Improve the quality of services delivered by the police, fire and emergency medical services. • Achievement of goals will occur through increased efficiencies, improved effectiveness and reduction of costs through increased collaboration with both public and private entities. • Recognize that the quality of services delivered is related to the culture of continuous improvement that brings in the right people to come and stay and achieve their fullest potential, a workplace that is committed to the health and wellbeing of its employees who in turn provide a great service to the community. IMPROVEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH THROUGH EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS AND FEEDBACK Through the Good to Great process employees will identify and establish objectives to be addressed in the coming year. This will be an ongoing process that will provide effective change to our operations and service delivery. Improving our Public Safety employees overall health and well being. The base level of fitness needs to improve. Fitness standards for initial hires that continue throughout employment. Developing an employer led culture that promotes overall wellness and ongoing fitness standards for Public Safety employees. Police Division Goals ... The Mission of the Cottage Grove Police Department is to provide the highest quality service, protect life, and promote individual responsibility and community commitment. Our department will maintain and improve community livability by working in meaningful partnerships with all citizens to preserve life, maintain human rights, protect property and promote individual responsibility and community commitment. EVALUATE CURRENT 12 HOUR POLICE SCHEDULE Compressed work week studies have been done and are finding that despite savings in overtime, agencies are paying costs in other ways. Are there employee impacts that outweigh the financial savings? Paramedic coverage is the primary factor in the consideration of alternative work schedules. FIREARMS TRAINING Probably one of the bigger issues facing east metro departments in the near future. Current facilities are overbooked as agencies scramble for indoor and outdoor range facilities. Woodbury, Hastings and other southeast metro agencies are seeking collaborative options to share potential facilities. $1,500,000.00 for an indoor firearms range is scheduled in the CIP for 2016. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS Improve our communication with the public, with on line citizen reporting for crimes, compliments or complaints that are directly integrated with the records system. August 2012 Washington County Sheriff will deploy the Tiburon Records Management System and Computer Aided Dispatch. There will be considerable improvements in obtaining summary data, dispatching delays and information available to the public. STAFFING Study the effects of part time personnel added for paramedic coverage. Consider utilizing Public Safety Officers (CSO /Paramedics). Controlled staffing for EMS response, such as firefighter duty crew, PSO's, Firefighter /Paramedic and Police /Paramedics to provide balanced coverage and allow for police and fire scheduling alternatives. Consistent supervision is not available on all shifts. The addition of a patrol sergeant will provide consistent supervision to all shifts. ANIMAL IMPOUND Explore alternative impound facilities and services to reduce expenditures. We need to renegotiate Park Grove Pet Hospital impound contract or consider alternate facility and services. At the same time we need to evaluate impound fees with private versus non - profit such as Humane Society. Consider CSO staffing time and fuel if alternatives are out of city such as Humane Society. Fire Division Goals ... The mission of the Cottage Grove Fire Department is to minimize the loss of life and property for the citizens of the City of Cottage Grove from fire, natural disasters and life - threatening situations by providing fire suppression, emergency medical care and quality customer service. The Cottage Grove Fire Department works toward this mission through firefighter training and preparation. The Department strives to provide a safe workplace for our members through an internal Safety Committee and continuous after action reviews. SHARED SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES Continue to pursue /research shared services: Woodbury Fire and EMS, WASHCO Emergency Management for drills, training, WASHCO Fire Chiefs, Prairie Island response, Medical Direction, Northern Tier Refinery (foam totes) etc. FACILITY USE AND CONSOLIDATION With the completion of the Public Safety /City Hall Building, Fire Station 2 will undergo some remodeling to improve its function. Day rooms, sleeping quarters, training and office space will be completed. The $7,000,000.00 replacement of Fire Station 2 is scheduled for 2016. Further study will determine potential consolidation of fire stations. COMMUNICATION Internal communication between stations and for paid on call personnel is limited. Sharepoint and EMS manager have increased employee communications but challenges remain ahead. Communication challenges exist through the current chain of command to paid on call personnel. The lack of connectivity between fire stations for city network functions, remote access and paid on call communications (email) have been a focus for improvement in communication. SELF CONTAINED BREATH APPARATUS (SCBA) The fifteen year old SCBNs are scheduled for replacement in 2015. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) will be pursued to fund the replacement which is estimated to cost $ 225 A final SCBA type will need to be decided by May 2012. STAFFING Evaluate measures to ensure a consistent, controlled and rapid response to Fire and EMS calls for service. Measures to consider are increasing FF /EMT and FF /Paramedic duty crew coverage to 24/7 providing depth and balance in the Public Safety schedule, taking pressures off of the police /paramedics providing coverage. Explore expenditure offsets through federal grant funding such as SAFER - Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response. This would allow opportunities for alternative scheduling and assignments across all Public Safety Divisions. RECORDS MANAGEMENT The implementation of the Records Management System (RMS) and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) in response vehicles in 2012 will substantially improve operations. Consolidation of all Public Safety records, utilization of existing support staff will improve the administrative and reporting functions in the Fire and EMS Divisions. TRAINING Annual performance appraisals have identified staff's desire to explore additional training opportunities utilizing internal and external instructors. Additional fire training in structures was also identified. Emergency Medical Services Division Goals CONTINUED PRIMARY RESPONSE STANDARDS Implement better response standards for second and third out EMS calls. CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT OF DUTY CREW SYSTEM Explore opportunities for an additional third duty crew paid position. Increase in funding for duty crew hours. Research the pros and cons of one (1) overnight EMT to work with night medics. Look at options for standby response. PART TIME PARAMEDICS Over the past 3 years part time personnel have been added, most recently the .6 paramedic for overnight coverage. The continuity and effectiveness of the part time position will be further evaluated. SUPPORT SERVICES An assessment for the ability to fully utilize support services staff to manage increasing demands. SHARED SERVICES AND PARTNERSHIPS Short and long term discussions will continue to seek cost efficient ways to improve services. Most recently supply chain management and quality control through medical supply purchasing through Regions Hospital was initiated. Improve utilization of mutual aid resources with Woodbury EMS. FACILITIES EMS Operations would benefit from a centralized operation. Ability to consolidate our ambulances to a central location, reduce the need to drive to additional stations for EMS response and confusion on multiple medicals. With the completion of the Public Safety /City Hall Building, improvements should be made to Station 2 which would provide better station conditions and sleeping quarters for staff, provide staff to the community for 24/7 operations. TRAINING Consider options of a new Advanced -EMT certification level with the state. The AEMT certification lies in between a paramedic and EMT which would provide an increased level of care for the patient. Overall paramedic skill evaluation, run volume assessments to ensure individual skill sets are maintained. Evaluate the current community base paramedic options and new healthcare standards for 2014. Work with insurance companies and hospital systems for money reimbursement. MN MA is looking to double in the next few years.