8.1 SR 04-01-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City of , �'*t REQUEST FOR ACTION ® 7 ACTION REQUESTED Review proposed ordinance change to Chapter 22, Article II, of the Ella River Code of Ordinances. ACKGROUND/ ISCUSSION Included as an objective in the 2013 -2017 Fire Department Strategic Plan is an update of Chapter 22 of the Elk River Code of Ordinances, specifically Article II, which pertains to the establishment, structure, and oversight of the fire department. According to Municode, the last update to this section was completed in 1982. The origins of the current code can be attributed to the long - standing history of the fire department in which the organization generally operated fairly independent Of city oversight. Originally, volunteer departments were directed by the consensus Of its membership, governed by department by -laws, and operated in a pure (unpaid) volunteer capacity. The current code reflects many of the past department practices. Today, however, most fire departments are a branch of city government and as such, need to function and operate in the same capacity as other departments, especially in regard to management and human resources. While we honor and respect the history and traditions of the past, it is important that we govern according to the best practices, standards, and laws of today. Proposed is a complete re -write of Chapter 22, Article II, which addresses the following: • Recognizes the fire department as a city department governed in accordance with existing rules and regulations, administrative policies, and operational procedures. • Establishes a formal command structure in which the fire chief has the supervision and control over the department, aided by a command and management staff. • Prescribes job descriptions for all positions within the organization. • Enables the City Council to establish a fee schedule to collect for responses to areas within the city limits. • Separates the roles, duties, responsibilities, and expectations of full-time staff, whose essential functions contain that of fire suppression /emergency response, and their involvement as a paid on -call firefighter. E Ii E Nt[I BY NAPublic Bodics \City Council\Council RCA \Agenda Packet \04 -01- 2013 \8.1 Ordinance Amendment fire P iI Department.docx INATURE