08-21-00 Personnel & Finance - Laserfiche WebLink

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Personnel and Finance Committee August 21,2000 Page 4 activities. She requested the pros and cons of having the Fire and Police Departments together for administrative purposes, as well as the concerns regarding Communications. She noted that other cities have them together, while many have them separated. She suggested that the City should have a plan and that the Administration and the Council should work together to have the best possible public safety facilities. The consequences of each alternative should be known and discussed before final decisions are made. Cathy Roemer noted that the first step will be the Public Works facility with demolition in the brownfield area taken place later this Fall,with construction to begin in the Spring of 2001. Council Member King inquired about the costing for outside services to such entities as the hospitals and Notre Dame. Cathy Roemer responded that the county EMS program costed 21 firefighters. Asst. Chief Switalski noted that three (3) firefighters have been costed with all benefits plus administrative costs for the hospitals. He further noted that the two contracts with the University of Notre Dame are all done with off-duty firefighters. Asst. Chief Switalski noted that the City has had the same ambulance rates for the last seven (7) years, and that the City may want to review these rates in the future. In response to a question from Citizen Member Isabelle Gonzalez, it was noted that $ 117,800 has been budgeted for various types of physicals which include haz-mat physicals,annual physicals, pension physicals and treadmill testing. Asst. Chief Switalski noted that the annual physicals were stated when Ms. Gonzalez was the Safety and Risk Officer for the City and have proved extremely beneficial. He also noted that the problem with the treadmill testing was positive addressed during wage negotiations this year with new contract language being agreed to by the Union and the City which will eliminate many problems. Ms. Gonzalez inquired as to how many lives had been saved as a result of the physicals. Asst. Chief Switalski noted that the program began in 1994. Three(3) of 223 firefighters failed to pass the test all due to cardiac conditions. The department works closely with Dr. Edwards in this area. He further noted that in 1990,the City lost a firefighter due to a cardiac condition. Ms. Gonzalez noted that the liability insurance is proposed to be increased from $ 153,168 to $ 162,802 and inquired why and what was covered. Cathy Roemer responded that three (3) basic types of coverage are provided for property, workers comp, and self-insurance claims being used as a catch-all. Ms. Gonzalez inquired about education and training noting that the City of Indianapolis works closely with the Hispanic coalition with regard to communication concerns and enhancing public safety in light of the changing demographics. Asst Chief Switalski stated that all medics have had two(2) hours of in service Spanish training. Asst. Chief Magdalinski noted that there are sixty-four (64) individuals who work on the various ambulances and that training requires funding for registration fees as well as overtime expenses, otherwise rigs will be forced out of service. It was also noted that recent FLSA guidelines may require overtime even when off-duty training is given and when firefighters volunteer.