TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Derrick Abell, Acting Fire Chief
Ron Laursen, Battalion Chief
Walberto Martin, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Resolution No. 18-0147 Approving the Los Angeles Area Regional Training Group Joint Powers Agreement and Authorizing the City’s Membership in the Regional Training Group Authority (Acting Fire Chief Abell).
a) ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 18-0147
b) AUTHORIZE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Adopt Resolution No. 18-0147 approving the Los Angeles Area Regional Training Group (RTG) Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) and authorizing the City’s membership in the RTG Authority;
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the JPA agreement and to take such reasonable actions as may be required to implement the intent of the JPA.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fees associated with membership into the RTG JPA. However, if funding becomes required from member agencies, the City will have the opportunity to evaluate the costs. If the cost for membership ever exceeds the Department’s budgeted amount for training, the City can withdraw membership. There are no penalties for member agencies that withdraw from the RTG JPA.
BACKGROUND:
There are 30 fire departments within Los Angeles County and each fire chief has membership within the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association (LAAFCA). LAAFCA recognized the need for regional training more than a decade ago and established the Regional Training Group (RTG), which is largely supported through Homeland Security grant funds. By establishing the RTG Joint Powers Agreement (JPA), the Los Angeles Region is developing the next major cooperative nationally recognized Fire Service program which will continue regional training far beyond the availability of federal grant dollars.
Fire agencies within the Los Angeles County Operational Area (LACOA) have worked together for years to prepare for natural, technological and human-caused disasters. California led the way in the 1940's with the development of the statewide mutual aid system. Then Southern California fire agencies, through FIRESCOPE, developed the Incident Command System (ICS) to strengthen the command and coordination of fire resources responding to and managing large scale emergencies. Both of these regional fire service systems are now in use nationwide.
Several years ago, in keeping with the progressive approach within the Southern California fire service, LAAFCA established a vision to create and operate a nationally recognized regional training and education program. Through this initiative to develop regional training for the ever-changing fire service environment, the RTG has proven to be quite successful at creating, conducting and evaluating regional training through multi-agency integration. The outcomes have been remarkable and are indeed a force multiplier in comparison to what a local, independent fire department can accomplish within its own training apparatus.
DISCUSSION:
The LAAFCA RTG vision of regional training is a very important component of all 30 fire departments to create uniform procedures. Currently 9,000 professional firefighters within LAAFCA’s sphere of influence serve a population of well over 10 million people. Since its inception, the RTG has ramped up resource leverage and increased the capacity of first responders to handle the most critical work required in the event of terrorism or other disasters.
Through the RTG’s efforts, emergencies are handled more seamlessly thus increasing the fluidity and uniformity of operations. In the event of a disaster in Los Angeles, no one department will be able to handle all calls for assistance in a widespread emergency response. Through this continued cooperation, all 30 fire agencies in the LA region have built relationships by promoting trust and achieve interoperability between all partner agencies. Beyond the operational benefits, firefighter service delivery improvements in preparation and response to terrorism or other large-scale disasters have improved.
The Joint Powers Agreement under consideration will ensure regional training continues even as Federal Homeland Security funds diminish. In fact, the past three years there has been an annual reduction of $20 million dollars for Homeland Security funding that would otherwise be available for projects such as RTG. There is no certainty that these dollars will return to levels that were once the norm.
As a member of the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) agencies are guaranteeing participation in fire service regional training even if Federal dollars expire. Additionally, by becoming an early adopter to the RTG JPA, the Fire Chief will become a board member and will determine critical aspects that will impact future training such as:
• Creating Bylaws and/or other guidelines
• Developing Overall Policy & Strategies for regional training
• Developing a comprehensive plan for equitable funding
• Developing a budget
• Creating committees and sub-committees, as needed
• Other related responsibilities as set forth by the JPA Board that will benefit all local fire departments that choose to form the Regional Training Group Authority
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and approved the agreement as to form.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 18-0147
2. Agreement - Los Angeles Area Regional Training Group