The Video can be viewed by clicking this link:  http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=180&clip_id=24654

President Covington called the meeting to order at 9:05 AM. 

1.         ROLL CALL
Commission President Francee Covington        Present

Commission Vice President Ken Cleaveland      Present

Commissioner Stephen Nakajo                         Present

Commissioner Michael Hardeman                    Present

Chief of Department    Joanne Hayes-White    Present

Raemona Williams       Deputy Chief – Administration

Ken Lombardi Support Services

Shane Francisco           Homeland Security

Dan DeCossio  Bureau of Fire Prevention

Richard Brown Bureau of Fire Prevention

Jeff Columbini Division of Training

Tony Molloy    EMS

Assistant Chiefs          

Tom Siragusa   Division 3

Staff   

Mark Corso      CFO

Clement Yeh    Medical Director

2.         PUBLIC COMMENT

Captain Whooley, who identified himself as President of the San Francisco Fire Department EMS Officers Association and is a Paramedic Captain with the City.  He stated that RC-4 was funded last year and it is still not being staffed in the Field.  He added that he was told that it would not be staffed until they agreed to a 12-hour shift and he feels this is somewhat akin to a hostage taking.  He stated they are currently understaffed in the RC role in the field and that there was no paramedic captain on scene the day of the Mario Woods shooting.  He encouraged that the RC-4 get staffed and he recommended a 24-hour shift as well as significant administrative backup.

3.         APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action to approve meeting minutes.

• Minutes from Regular Meeting on January 27, 2016

Commissioner Hardeman Moved to approve the January 27, 2016 regular meeting Minutes.  Commissioner Cleaveland Seconded.  Motion to approve above Minutes was unanimous.

There was no public comment:

4.         RESOLUTION 2016-01 [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action regarding proposed Resolution 2016-01, recommending that the Board of Supervisors authorize the San Francisco Fire Department accept a gift of $25,000 from AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah for NERT supplies and public safety education programs and materials.

Mark Corso presented the four resolutions and explained that the department has a gift fund and when they receive donations from the public or from private entities, those are all recorded for public records, but also deposited into the gift fund.  He added that by board and state policy, any gift over $10,000 needs to be formally approved by the Commission and by the Board of Supervisors.  Two of them have been received recently, and two are older that are in need of clean up and have not been formally approved for a variety of reasons.  He added that unless there's specific instructions on the donations and they are deposited into the gift fund, and are spent at the discretion of the Chief of Department.

Commissioner Hardeman moved to approve Resolution 2016-01.  Vice President Cleaveland Seconded.  The motion was unanimous.

There was no public comment on this item.

5.         RESOLUTION 2016-02 [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action regarding proposed Resolution 2016-02, recommending that the Board of Supervisors authorize the San Francisco Fire Department accept a gift of $12,000 from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company for the development of a recruitment training video.

Vice President Cleaveland moved to approve Resolution 2016-02.  Commissioner Hardeman Seconded.  The motion was unanimous.

There was no public comment on this item.

6.         RESOLUTION 2016-03 [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action regarding proposed Resolution 2016-03, recommending that the Board of Supervisors authorize the San Francisco Fire Department accept a gift of $54,972 from the Estate of Nguey Woo, to be allocated for the purchase public education and outreach materials in conjunction with the Fire Department’s 150th Anniversary.

Mark Corso explained that the Chief of the Department intends to use the allocation of funds for fire education and safety training and outreach materials.  The Department's intention with this funding is to, along with some of the programs that the Bureau of Fire Prevention is doing, leverage the events of 150th anniversary to serve as a way to reach out to additional people in the communities.

Vice President Cleaveland moved to approve Resolution 2016-03.  Commissioner Nakajo Seconded.  The motion was unanimous.

There was no public comment on this item.

7.         RESOLUTION 2016-04 [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action regarding proposed Resolution 2016-04, recommending that the Board of Supervisors authorize the San Francisco Fire Department accept a gift of $72,400 from the Pastor Revocable Trust, to be allocated for the purchase public education and outreach materials in conjunction with the Fire Department’s 150th Anniversary.

After discussing the terms with President Covington, Mr. Corso dug a little deeper into the past amendments and changes that were made to the trust and that were provided by the attorney's office and discovered there is specific language in one of the amendments that states that rather than be at the discretion of the Fire Department, the funds were allocated for the purchase of firefighting equipment specifically.  Mr. Corso requested an amendment to the resolution be made, changing the language from the purchase of public education and outreach materials in conjunction with the Fire Department's 150th anniversary, to instead be allocated for the purchase of firefighting equipment.  The wording will be changed to reflect that amendment. 

Vice President Cleaveland moved to approve Resolution 2016-04 as amended.  Commissioner Hardeman Seconded.  The motion was unanimous.

There was no public comment on this item.

8.         DRAFT OPERATING BUDGET – FISCAL YEARS 2016-2017/ 2017-2018 [Discussion and possible action]
Discussion and possible action to adopt the Fire Department’s Operating Budget for Fiscal Years 2016-2017/2017-2018.

Mark Corso introduced the following PowerPoint presentation along with the attached supporting documents:

http://sf-fire.org/sites/default/files/COMMISSION/Fire%20Commission%20Support%20Documents%202015/Draft%20Operating%20Budged%202-10-16%20meeting%20PP_2.pdf

http://sf-fire.org/sites/default/files/COMMISSION/Fire%20Commission%20Support%20Documents%202015/draft%20operating%20budget%20FY%202016-17%20and%202017-18.pdf

Mark Corso explained that The Department's budget submittal is due on Monday, February 22nd.  He added that over the next few months, the Mayor's office works to develop a comprehensive City budget that is presented to the Board of Supervisors on June 1^st followed by budget hearings at the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee in June and July and finally, in July and August, it goes before the full Board to be considered for approval.  He mentioned that the first of the two years is technically approved in last year's budget process as a two-year budget, and that there is a baseline budget that they have to start off with.  He added that the baseline budget with some modifications that are being proposed by the Department, as well as some other changes outside of the Department's discretion are now incorporated into the budget.  He stated that they are requesting approval of this item to meet the February 22nd deadline.  Mr. Corso described the list of enhancements that were proposed by Division Heads and Budget Committee members as far as actual needs for the department, some which were proposed last year and were not funded and some are new.

Vice President Cleaveland thanked Mr. Corso for his presentation and his diligence in putting it all together.  He asked if he had taken into consideration any of the items that Captain Whooley talked about.  Mr. Corso answered yes, that there are a number of EMS infrastructure positions to support operations at station 49.  Vice President Cleaveland also mentioned that he loved the idea of getting some plumbing and electrical people on staff.  He added that it is not acceptable that the firefighters have to wait as long as they do to get their stations fixed.  Mr. Corso added that it would be a benefit to have the flexibility of having in-house personnel to prioritize that type of maintenance work.  Vice President Cleaveland was glad to see on the list of enhancements that they are going to ask for an increase on the ALS engine side from 32 to 44 paramedics.  He enquired about creating a CD3 for EMS.  Mark Corso replied that they would be converting the current assistant deputy chief to a deputy chief and that would cost about an additional $46,000.00 a year.  Mr. Corso added that all the enhancements will be prioritized by the Budget Committee in the coming months in discussions with the Mayor’s office.  Vice President Cleaveland added that he thinks the Commission needs to be involved in voicing their opinions on priorities of the enhancement request.

Commissioner Hardeman thanked Mr. Corso for his presentation and handout which was extremely detailed and easy to understand.  He added that he appreciated his explanations particularly to the H-2 candidates in the room and members of the public.  He mentioned that if the members of the department decided to get a ballot measure out to the voters, he believes the citizens would probably vote for it, but that’s not the way it works.  He added that we all want the same thing, and if the money’s not there, we don’t get it and finger pointing will do no good.  Commissioner Hardeman mentioned it was nice to hear that the labor organizations were not opposing the budget.

Commissioner Nakajo thanked Mr. Corso for his presentation and appreciated his concentration and focus on the budget.  He added that the difference he sees is that the enhancement list is very comprehensive and it's very important to him as a commissioner to know that it was put together by the Budget Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, Chiefs’ in the Department and members in the field.  The budget has the details but the enhancement are truly a reflection of current needs.  Commissioner Nakajo stated that the difference for him is that the enhancements are clear indications of what the needs are, where previously we didn't verbalize it, or we didn't put it on paper and took a strategic process by putting down what our needs are and what our priorities are, knowing realistically that the Mayor's Budget Office also has a concept of what their needs are and what their priorities are.  Commissioner Nakajo confirmed with Mr. Corso that the Department was not going to fulfill the request of a half percent reductions for two fiscal years.  Mr. Corso confirmed that the budget before the Commission is approximately $371,000,000.00 and on top of that, there is approximately $29.3 million dollars being requested for enhancements and on top of that, there is also the fleet replacement plan that has been requested that is approximately $45 million dollars..

President Covington asked Mr. Corso for an overall view of the current state of affairs with the equipment and fleet.  Mr. Corso responded that the Commission passed a vehicle replacement plan originally back in 2007 and it was revised in 2009.  Ever since then, the Department, on an annual basis, requests vehicles based off of that replacement plan.  However, the Department has not been funded to completely support that replacement plan.  He added that since the time the replacement plan was put into service, the needs of the Department have changed.  We've grown and added stations, resources, and additional apparatus, things of that nature.  The replacement plan, while still great, does not reflect the current needs of the Department and so in addition, the Department is proposing a replacement plan to the Mayor's office that is a more updated plan to better suit the Department's current needs.  He mentioned that the goal for the Department is to have a dedicated source of funding in the budget every year specifically for vehicles and equipment that they could count on every year that would meet the needs of the Department.  He stated that a lot of the apparatus are old and are in the shop in need of repair and that's not efficient or cost effective.  He added it would be one of the highest priority needs for the Department in the budget process.  President Covington touched on the need to prioritize the enhancement request and really look at the needs of EMS, as well as elevating the profile of the EMS units as well.  The enhancements are a reflection of the current needs and they need to be prioritized in such a way that they can really mobilize forces and push for the monies that are needed.  She added that the enhancements are very concrete needs of the Department and they need to be addressed and to be funded.  She stated that we are a growing city and will be bursting at the seams by the end of the two-year period for this budget round and in need of additional resources so that we can keep the additional people who are going to be living in the city as safe as possible.

Commissioner Nakajo moved to approve the Budget.  Commissioner Hardeman Seconded.  The motion was unanimous.

Public Comment:

Captain Whooley encouraged the Commission to look at the overall staffing of the EMS position in the department and the level of supervision.  He mentioned they are understaffed and that 20 percent of the positons are vacant.  He complained about mandatory overtime and operating in vehicles that have been deemed unsafe.  He suggested that the Commission take a look at the Strategic Planning proposal put forth by Captain Sandy Tong. 

9          CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT’S REPORT [Discussion]

REPORT FROM CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT

Report on current issues, activities and events within the Department since the Fire Commission meeting of January 27, 2016, including Fiscal Year 2015-2016 budget, staffing changes, academies, strategic planning, 150^th Anniversary update, special events, communications and outreach to other government agencies and the public.

Chief Hayes-White’s report covered information from the last meeting held on January 27, 2016. She touched on the budget with enhancements and that they are real needs for the Department, and that in the lean budget years they had to defer a lot.  She added that she believes as the City grows, the Department needs to grow and we need to be able to be fully staffed and have proper modern equipment.  She stated that on February 3rd, she presented before the Budget and Finance Committee regarding the health bond that is slated to go on the June ballot of this year, a 350-million-dollar bond, of which 44 million is earmarked to go towards a state-of-the-art EMS facility and an additional 14 million for a total of 58 million of the 350 million bond to go towards continuation of the modernizing and upgrading of all the fire department facilities that began since the 2010 and 2014 ESER Bond passages.  The Board of Supervisors approved the Bond with a 10 to 1 vote, and will be placed on the June ballot.

Chief Hayes-White introduced Jonathan Baxter, the new Public Information Officer, who began officially in that capacity on January 18th, and he is off to a great start.  He was of great assistance during the Super Bowl 50 events.  She asked Firefighter Paramedic Baxter to provide a brief overview of what his goals are and a little bit about himself.  Mr. Baxter gave an overview of his position including his efforts to improve the Department’s social media outlets, working with the media and with the community.  Mr. Baxter gave his background as follows:  he’s been with the San Francisco Fire Department for 16 years, 8 of those 16 years he has been working at Fire Station Number 1, which one of the busiest fire stations in the community.  Prior to that, he worked at multiple stations within the City and County of San Francisco, working on the Surf/Cliff Rescue Unis, which allowed him to work on different means and apparatus.  Prior to that, he has an additional 9 1/2 years of fire service with the City of Sonoma Fire Department and the City of Haywood Fire Department as a firefighter paramedic where he had similar roles as he does at SFFD, progressing into the ranks of company officer within those agencies.  He also has a background in law enforcement working as a reserve police officer for a little over 15 years for a neighboring Bay Area agency.  His educational background is he has a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and an Associate's Degree in Fire Science.  He has a paramedic license and he has 16 fire, EMS, and community relations related certificates as well as 14 meritorious valor awards within the city of San Francisco.

Commissioner Nakajo asked him if he was going to be able to develop some bilingual abilities.  Mr. Baxter explained that he is currently working on it, and is taking Spanish lessons and he foresees pursuing Chinese after he’s comfortable with Spanish.  In the meantime, he has a translation service on his iPad.  Commissioner Nakajo complimented Mr. Baxter for his efforts and thought it was excellent that he is taking it upon himself to learn to speak Spanish and have access to Chinese translation.

Vice President Cleaveland also commended Mr. Baxter for his appointment and thinks it’s a necessary position within the Department.  Vice President Cleaveland also asked if Mr. Baxter would be responsible for the quarterly department publication that just started.  Mr. Baxter responded that yes, he would contributing to the publication as well as a monthly newsletter outlining topics within the agency to allow the field to understand what is going on within the Department.

President Covington commented that she admires Mr. Baxter’s plan to become trilingual.  She added that with the 150^th Anniversary approaching, he can use his position to inform the citizens of the upcoming activities and events surrounding the anniversary.

Commissioner Hardeman also commended Mr. Baxter for his amazing background, and mentioned he saw why the Chief picked him for the position with all his credentials.

Chief Hayes-White continued with her report and touched on the 119^th academy, which began on January 25, 2016, the 120^th academy which they anticipate starting in the March/April timeframe, the Strategic Planning Committee which met on February 2, 2016 and reported out the subcommittee findings and will meet again on February 23, 2015 and that the goal is hopefully to have a draft Strategic Plan sometime before the next meeting which has not been scheduled yet.  She mentioned that with regard to the 150^th Anniversary, they will officially commemorate that on December 3^rd, but the kickoff event will be the annual NERT drill on April 17, 2016 with an official kickoff on April 18^, 2016 with many other special events throughout the year, leading up to the December 3, 2016 anniversary date.  She added that she is looking forward to a nine-month period of celebration and commemoration and education of where the department was, where it is now, and the future of the Fire Department.  She mentioned that the next meeting is scheduled for February 25, 2016.

With regards to Special Events, Chief Hayes-White acknowledged Chief Shane Francisco, Deputy Chief Jeff Myers, Assistant Chief David Franklin and Battalion Chief Mike Thompson for the very successful Super Bowl 50 events.  She added that she was very proud of the members of the San Francisco Fire Department and everyone that stepped up to support a challenging event, but it was an event that because of the good planning, they were able to achieve success.

Chief Hayes-White touched on the upcoming Assistant Chief’s exam scheduled for February 19^th and 20^th.  She acknowledged Commissioner Nakajo for setting up a meeting with Dr. Yeh and the two new members assigned to the EMS 6 program to meet with members of CPMC/Sutter Health related to the EMS 6 program and what the goals and objectives are as there is a real direct link between the nine receiving hospitals and the work of not only the EMS Division but specifically the EMS 6 program.  She stated that what came out of that discussion was to continue the lines of communication.

Chief Hayes-White mentioned that she and Chief Williams attended and represented the Department at City Hall for the kick off of Black History month.  She added that she has been reaching out to the various employees groups to encourage them to have a sit down meeting in an effort to continue ongoing dialogue.  She announced the upcoming Chinese New Year Parade on February 20, 2016 and encouraged everyone to participate in the Parade.  She concluded her report by asking that the meeting be adjourned in the memory of former Fire Commissioner Hadley Roff and Retired member Thomas Underwood, who she had the privilege and pleasure of working with in 1990, when she first came into the Department.

REPORT FROM OPERATIONS

Report on overall field operations, including to greater alarm fires, Emergency Medical Services, the Bureau of Fire Prevention & Investigation, and the Airport Division and Super Bowl 50 Review.

Chief Gonzales also acknowledged the members that were essential in making the Super Bowl 50 event a success, especially the EMS Division, including the new H-8’s that stepped up, the Admin staff, Chief David Franklin and the SFPD.  He mentioned that the Bureau of Fire Prevention did many inspections for the event, and it was a huge undertaking as far as planning went, there were a few challenges they were able to overcome, but it was a successful event.

Chief Gonzales stated that the EMS-6 program was put back into service and they have been very busy and the feedback he is receiving has suggested it has been successful so far.

He announced the upcoming multi-agency surf rescue drill on February 9th at 1:00 p.m. at Ocean Beach and invited all to attend.  He gave a recap on the Bureau of Fire Prevention and Bureau of Fire Investigations.  He added that 99 smoke alarms were provided to the Boys and Girls Club to distribute in the Mission District and 48 smoke alarms were provided to NERT trainees at the South of Market neighborhood meeting. He gave a brief update on the Transportation Advisory Staff Committee and that they continue to work with the MTA on improvement projects and are still waiting for written decisions from the City Attorney on the legality of lane encroachment by SFFD vehicles under normal operating conditions.

Chief Gonzales mentioned that at the Bureau of Fire Investigations, there was a reduction of 44 open fire reports from the previous month.  With regards to the Airport, he welcomed new Assistant Deputy Chief Rudy Castellanos and mentioned that the paramedic bike program started last week.

Commissioner Hardeman commented that he was glad that the events at Super Bowl City was successful and it was money well spent.  He was also glad to hear that the equipment with the engines was a top priority on the list of enhancements.

Commissioner Nakajo also expressed his appreciation for the hard work of the members during the Super Bowl events.  He thanked Chief Hayes-White and Dr. Yeh for meeting with staff from California Pacific Medical Center.

Vice President Cleaveland asked Chief Gonzales if the fire investigation reports are ever made available to the public.  Chief Gonzales answered that it is something they can explore and he would refer that question to Fire Marshal DeCossio to answer.  He added that the new public information officer, Jonathan Baxter has been doing a great job of getting the up to date word out after a major incident as well as the Department going out to neighborhoods to outreach regarding fires and concerns regarding gentrification.

President Covington asked Chief Hayes-White when the current academy class will graduate.  Chief Hayes-White answered May 20, 2016.  President Covington also asked when the draft of the Strategic Plan will come to the Commission as she thinks it is important to have a snapshot on paper of where we are now and where we want to be.  Chief Hayes-White responded that the goal would be sometime in the spring.

President Covington described her experience when she toured Super Bowl City and stated she was extremely impressed with what she witnessed.  She added there was a diverse audience, very young families, Asian families, African-American families, Latino families and Filipino families.

There was no public comment.

10.       AGENDA FOR NEXT FIRE COMMISSION MEETING [Discussion]
Discussion regarding agenda for the February 24, 2016 regular meeting.

• NERT
• EMS-6
• Overview of Superbowl
• Update on 911 collaboration

Public Comment:  Captain Whooley stated that he would strongly encourage and support the idea of a deputy in charge of EMS and more H-43’s in EMS and that further discussion need to be held about the exact amount of supervision provided in EMS.

11.       ADJOURNMENT     

President Covington adjourned the meeting in the memory of retired Lieutenant Thomas Underwood and Former Commissioner Hadley Roff at 11:50 AM.

Commissioner Nakajo gave an overview of Hadley Roff who was appointed to the San Francisco Fire Commission in 1996 where he served as commissioner and later as commission president and served until January 2001.  He added that Mr. Roff was full of life, was dedicated, smart, clever, funny and witty and will be missed.