Authorize Extension of Agreement for Interim Fire Chief Services for the City of St Francis.

This item was tabled from the April 8 Consent agenda to allow staff to review the time spent by the Ramsey Fire Chief in St. Francis under his contract.  The agreement was originally put into place in 2012 for six months to provide an interim Fire Chief to St. Francis when their Fire Chief resigned, and St. Francis was in need of professional management assistance for their department.  At about this same time period, the City had entered into discussions with neighboring communities (including St. Francis) about having a shared fire services group.  Because of the ongoing shared fire service discussions, the agreement was extended for an additional year in 2013, and now needs to be extended again if the contract is to continue.

St Francis has requested an extension to the current agreement for Fire Chief Services. The extension will run from April 23, 2014 until April 23, 2015. Contents of the agreement will remain the same.  The agreement has been in place over the past year and a half without incident.  With on-going discussions about further merging or consolidating fire services among four area cities, staff recommends that this agreement remain in place for another year.

Staff reviewed the time spent by Chief Kapler in Ramsey versus St. Francis.  Chief Kapler attends 50-70% of Ramsey Station call and only attends St. Francis calls occasionally, based on if it is a major event.  Chief Kapler does not attend any of the medical calls for St. Francis, which make up the majority of their regular calls.  During the day, Chief Kapler spends about 8.8% of his daytime hours, and shares regular weekend and evening hours between the two communities (e.g., training nights).  Notably, many of the hours Chief Kapler spends for the City of Ramsey are after hours and on weekends, and make up for any hours provided to St. Francis during the week.  Ramsey emergency service calls take priority over St. Francis calls for Chief Kapler.

At the time the contract was commenced, it was intended to be permanent until a joint powers agreement among the shared fire services could be determined.  The City receives nearly $8,000 per year ($666 per month) to cover vehicle and equipment expenses, and to simplify matter, it was decided that St. Francis would pay Chief Kapler directly $1,334 per month for his compensation ($16.008 per year) and they would be responsible for paying any payroll taxes and retirement.  If a joint fire services is created, the compensation for full-time administrative officers will need to be reviewed.

Staff supports extending the agreement for an additional year while the joint fire services study is ongoing.  The contract has a thirty-day termination provision, that the City should consider exercising if joint fire services talks cease during the coming year.

There is no funding source required. Part of the agreement is a monthly payment from St Francis to Ramsey of $666 ($7,992 per year) to cover use of vehicle, cell phone, turnout gear, radio, etc.  Additionally, a $1,334.00 per month is paid directly to Chief Kapler, subject to normal state and federal withholding, and while attending to SFFD matters, Chief Kapler shall be deemed an employee of St. Francis.

Staff recommends council authorize the agreement extension effective April 23, 2014.

Council to authorize the extension of the Agreement for Interim Fire Chief Services for the City of St Francis.