HomeMy WebLinkAbout24. 22-223MAY 24, 2022 22-223 RESOLUTION
(CARRIED___6-0_____LOST________LAID OVER________WITHDRAWN________)
PURPOSE: AMEND THE 2022 OPERATING BUDGET TO APPROVE
ADDITIONAL BATTALION CHIEF POSITION IN THE OSHKOSH
FIRE DEPARTMENT
INITIATED BY: FIRE DEPARTMENT
WHEREAS, the Common Council has adopted the 2022 Operations Budget, which
is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to amend the 2022 Fire Department Operations Budget
to add an additional Battalion Chief Position for the Oshkosh Fire Department.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of
Oshkosh that the 2022 Operations Budget, on file in the City Clerk's Office, is hereby
amended to utilize fund balance to increase funding in the following accounts by the
amounts indicated:
Acct. Nos. 01000230-6102 Regular Pay $54,918.00
01000230-6302 FICA $ 796.31
01000230-6304 WRS $ 8,974.00
01000230-6307 Health Insurance $10,494.00
City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us
TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the Common Council
FROM: Michael Stanley, Fire Chief
DATE: May 17, 2022
RE: Amend the 2022 Operating Budget to Approve Additional Battalion Chief Position in
the Oshkosh Fire Department.
BACKGROUND
The Oshkosh Fire Department is currently staffed with one (1) Fire Chief, two (2) Assistant Chiefs, three
(3) Duty or Battalion Chiefs and two (2) 40-hour Division Chiefs. Each Duty Chief is assigned to one of
three platoons on a 24-hour shift to supervise personnel and oversee responses and the operations of
their assigned shift. The two Division Chiefs are assigned to supervise functional areas or divisions, in
this case the Training Division and EMS Division.
In 2017, the Fire Chief did a structural reorganization to the scheduling and assignments of the Battalion
Chiefs. At that time there were six (6) Battalion Chiefs. Historically, those Battalion Chiefs all had
significant areas of responsibility in relation to program and project management within the fire
department. They were each assigned to a 52-hour workweek. They balanced their hours of
administrative responsibilities with rotating assignments to shifts to cover the position of 24-hour Duty
Chief. Additionally, vacancies to cover scheduled or non-scheduled leave were frequently filled by the
Fire Chief or Assistant Chief. The Fire Chief or Assistant Chief would find themselves working as many
as ten 24-hour shifts a month, which in of itself is equal to a full-time assignment. This rotation did not
provide for consistency of supervision and leadership for the personnel assigned to the shift. Each
workday employees might be directly supervised by any of eight different Chief Officers. This led to
breakdowns in communication, follow up on issues, employee development and countless other issues.
The reorganization attempted to alleviate this problem. The Battalion Chiefs assignments were more
distinctly divided. Three (3) Battalion Chiefs were assigned to the respective ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ platoons
on a 24-hour shift. The remaining (3) Battalion Chiefs were assigned to serve in administrative positions
as the Fire Marshal, Training Chief, and EMS Chief assigned to a 40-hour work week. Vacancies were
still filled by the Fire Chief, Assistant Chief, and administrative Battalion Chiefs.
This provided a solution to the concern of rotating supervision. The employees and the organization
benefited greatly from having a single Battalion Chief assigned to the supervision of each platoon. While
it did address one problematic area, it either did not address others or created more. For example,
personnel that were assigned to critical administrative functions were not able to focus their attention to
the management, maintenance, and growth of the fire department.
In mid-2018 the Fire Chief and Assistant Chief no longer filled vacancies in the Duty Chief position. This
was done so their attention and efforts could be focused more appropriately on leading and managing
the organization. In 2020, a Staffing and Deployment Study was conducted for the Oshkosh Fire
Department by Matrix Consulting Group that recommended that the Fire Marshal Battalion Chief’s
position should be upgraded to an Assistant Chief position because of the scope, complexity, and
importance of the duties associated with the position. That upgrade took place in 2021. These changes
improved many administrative functions, but the phase that provided relief to the Duty Chief was left
incomplete.
In 2020 in order to attempt to address the need to fill these vacancies and provide for career development
and succession planning opportunities, a program was created to train and develop those at the Captain’s
rank to fill vacancies as an Acting Battalion Chief. This provided additional options to staff the Duty
Chief position without utilizing administrative personnel and take them away from their assigned duties.
ANALYSIS
Although significant improvements have been made in the roles and responsibilities and table of
organization there are still are several problems that exist. The 2020 Staffing and Deployment Study
based on data from 2019, identified the need for another chief officer position. Since that time, call
volume, projects, and programs for the fire department have continuously increased.
The industry standard for the fire service is a staffing coefficient of 1.33. Meaning, for every full-time
position, it takes one and-a-third full-time employees in order to cover for scheduled and unscheduled
leave time. Relative to the Battalion Chief position, the current staffing coefficient is 1.0. This is
obviously much lower than the industry standard and is an impossibility to operate with. This would
generate a circumstance where the existing Duty Chiefs would need to cover the assignment 365 days
a year with no respite. Even with the implementation of the Acting Battalion Chief program, the pre-
existing low staffing coefficient paired with vacancies, and long-term absences makes this solution
much less viable.
There are also a great number of administrative responsibilities that need to take place to operate the
fire department. The department consistently seeks ways to become more organizationally efficient.
To achieve this, and to try to equitably distribute the work load, numerous administrative
responsibilities have been moved from the Battalion Chiefs to the other chief officers and support staff.
Unfortunately, this cannot be done to the extent necessary. Put simply, there is too much work to go
around. This results in the Battalion Chiefs having the added responsibility of managing program areas
in addition to their duties of supervising their assigned platoon.
A Duty Chief on a duty chief shift is scheduled for a 56-hour work week. With the added program
management responsibilities they find themselves working additional hours to oversee their programs
that results in them averaging 65-80 hour work weeks. This is a significant workload that the Battalion
Chiefs have been subjected to for years at this point. That creates a recruitment and retention issue for
the position. Much feedback has been received from junior officers regarding their lack of interest in
advancing to the position of Battalion Chief because of the unattractive working conditions. This
drastically impairs the leadership development and internal succession within the department.
FISCAL IMPACT
The annual cost for a Battalion Chief with salary and full benefits is $141,065.00. The value will be gained
through the improved supervision of shifts and addressing the overload of administrative duties. If this
addition were approved for June 1, 2022, the cost for 2022 will be $75,182. For 2022 this increase will be
funded through the use of fund balance. The following accounts will be increased in the 2022 Operating
Budget:
01000230-6102 Regular Pay $54,918
01000230-6302 FICA $796.00
01000230-6304 WRS $8,974
01000230-6307 Health Insurance $10,494
This increased funding will not jeopardize the ability to qualify for the Expenditure Restraint Program
in 2022. Funding for 2023 and beyond will be included in the general property tax levy and subject to
approval with all other funding and personnel requests.
RECOMMENDATION
I am recommending that an additional Battalion Chief position be added to the Oshkosh Fire Department
immediately rather than waiting for the 2023 budget. This new position would work a hybrid schedule
of shift-work and conventional work days. This position would spend approximately a third of their
time backfilling the Duty Chief position. The consistency of shift supervision in the current model would
be sustained and supplemented by this new position. This would raise the staffing coefficient for the
Battalion Chief rank to the needed 1.33 and reduce the need to backfill the position with already depleted
numbers of junior staff.
During their conventional office hours, the new Battalion Chief would increase the administrative
capacity of the department. The existing Battalion Chiefs would be relieved of some areas of
administrative responsibilities or be able to perform them without sacrificing their availability as
supervisors. The new Battalion Chief would reduce the number of assigned shift days to the Duty Chiefs.
The current amount of responsibility in relation to the personnel is no longer sustainable. This solution
will make for a more equitable and balanced work load for the chief officers. It should also alleviate the
concerns of the employee group to make the position reasonable and desirable and to promote
advancement of department leaders. For the benefit of the employees, the department, the City, and the
people we serve, I urge you to consider this request for an additional Battalion Chief.
Respectfully Submitted, Reviewed:
Mike Stanley, Fire Chief Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager