FDAC Report February 2021 by FDAC

FDAC F I R E D I S T R I C T S A S S O C I AT I O N O F C A L I F O R N I A

F E B R U A R Y

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FDAC F I R E D I S T R I C T S A S S O C I AT I O N O F C A L I F O R N I A

2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Jim Comisky 1st Vice President Frank Frievalt 2nd Vice President Eric Walder Treasurer Richard Pearce

FDAC STAFF Catherine Smith, Executive Director Carmen Berry, Administrative Director David Garrison, Graphic Designer Angelique Grellus, Coordinator Rayneedae Garcia, Assistant PHOTOGRAPHY Pexels, Pixabay and Unsplash The purpose of this Association shall be: 1) to present a united position on fire protection issues; 2) to coordinate with other associations with similar views on fire protection, including legislation; 3) to provide advisory services and any other services deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors that may benefit member agencies; 4) to keep member agencies informed on laws relating to fire suppression, emergency medical and other related services provided by member agencies; 5) to take an active role in the legislative process affecting public agencies providing fire suppression, emergency medical and related services. Thank you to all the authors in this issue for sharing with you their time and expertise. If you have an idea for a future article, please contact Angelique Grellus at the FDAC office at agrellus@fdac.org. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FDAC. For more information on FDAC or this magazine, please contact the FDAC office at 916.231.2137 or visit the website at www. fdac.org.

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1

reetings my fellow FDAC members. As we move towards the spring, and the very low rainfall, I fear we may be in for yet another extremely active Fire Season. But we will do as we do every year: prepare our communities and our personnel to make it as safe as possible.

Jim Comisky, South Lake County Fire Protection District

I would like to bring you up to date on the various committees and the progress they are making. The FDAC Education Committee, under the direction of Steve Hall, has been busy. They are almost finished with the rewrite of the Certificate of Achievement (COA) Program and it will be available soon for Districts to participate in virtually. However, the sad news is that we will not be able to host an in-person Annual Conference this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the Education Committee is working hard to put together a Virtual Annual Conference and already has many speakers and topics ready to go; more details to follow. The FDAC Legislative Committee, led by Jeff Willis, is ramping up for the new Legislative Season. As most of you know, the FDAC Legislative Committee is tied at the hip with the Cal Chiefs Legislative Committee, alternating between Joint Committee Chairs. This year Jeff Willis is the Joint Committee Chair. Working closely with Russ Noack and the folks at PPA, the Legislative Committee will be very busy in the months to come. With the uncertainty of the stability in Sacramento at the Capitol, we must ensure that we support legislation that has a positive effect on our Districts and certainly lobby against those that would be detrimental to us as well.

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We have filled the two vacancies for Board Directors so FDAC is whole again. We have done some work on the bylaws that give clarity as to how we can continue to utilize past Directors that retire but still have valuable input and direction for FDAC. We have had some discussion on creating “Deputy Director” opportunities. This would bring an opportunity for us to get these individuals up to speed on the work we do in a non-voting role for the sake of succession planning. Please continue to stay safe in these difficult times. We will make it through! Best regards,

Chief Jim Comisky, FDAC President South Lake County Fire Protection District

FDAC ANNUAL CONFERENCE S A V E T H E D A T E

he FDAC Annual Conference is going virtual! In April FDAC will be coming to you with education sessions, networking opportunties and fun from the comfort of your home office or socially distanced work-place. The dates for our Annual Conference will be April 13-14th. 8:30am - 12pm both days.

FDAC ANNUAL CONFERENCE

APRIL 13-14TH | 8:30AM - 12PM FDAC

Fire Districts Association of California L E G I S L A T I V E A R T I C L E

T Russell W. Noack, Public Policy Advocates, LLC Julee Malinowski Ball, Public Policy Advocates, LLC

he disruptive influence of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the legislative process as legislators returned to Sacramento in January. The commencement of the Session was delayed a week due to the acceleration in the volume of cases and the Capitol is in nearly lock down condition with severe limitations on access for both staff and the public. The makeup of the Legislature remains under the supermajority of the Democrats with them enjoying a 59 to 19 margin in the Assembly and a 30 to 9 margin in the Senate. A significant political development occurred this month with the confirmation of Shirley Weber, a Democrat from San Diego, to be the first African American woman to serve as Secretary of State. As Ms. Weber shared in her acceptance speech, “As I tell people how ironic it is that a girl whose father could not vote, whose grandparents never had a chance to vote, is now responsible for 40 million Californians and their right to vote”. Her confirmation fills the vacancy created by Governor Newsom’s appointment of Alex Padilla of Los Angeles to serve out Kamala Harris’ term in the U.S. Senate. Governor’s 2021-22 Budget Governor Newsom unveiled a $227 billion State Budget providing for substantial funding of high priority programs. Further, since tax revenues have exceeded projections, the Governor is asking the Legislature to expedite funding in a number of areas to assist in the economic recovery from COVID-19 impacts. Vaccine distribution, school reopening,

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support for low-income families, restoration of wages to state workers and financial assistance for business tops the list of nearly $5 billion proposed to be expended in the early action items. The Legislative Budget hearing process has begun in earnest including the first hearing on the Governor’s plan to spend $1 billion for various proposals to reduce the risk of wildfires. There are over 20 proposals and they include: 1. Grants to Local Entities. The grant program aims to reduce the risk of wildfires to homes and communities, as well as reducing carbon emissions affecting air pollution from forest fires. Eligible projects will include hazardous fuel reduction, fire prevention planning and education. 2. Land use planning assistance by CAL FIRE to local governments and communities in developing wildfire plans. 3. Cooperative assistance from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources to provide support to farmers and the community on fire-related issues. 4. Regional grants to implement projects that improve forest health and fire resilience. 5. Use of CAL FIRE staff to conduct defensible space inspections in the SRA. 6. Staff increase for CAL FIRE to provide hand crews for fuel reduction, vegetation management, and prescribed burn projects.

7. Grant opportunities for agencies to carry out forest health and fuel reduction activities. 8. Grant program to expand prescribed fire permitting process. 9. Wildfire mitigation assistance funding for hardening of structures for homeowners as set forth in Assembly Bill 38 of 2019. 10. Expansion of programs to support healthy forest activity on tribal lands. The FDAC leadership and staff have established an open line of communication with the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) whose representative has actively testified in support of local fire department access to many of the funding opportunities set forth in the Governor’s Budget proposals. Governor’s 2021-22 Budget Since the bill introduction deadline is February 19 and most authors wait until the last minute to drop measures, legislative activity has been minimal to date. An early positive development was the creation of a new Assembly Emergency Management Committee chaired by Freddie Rodriguez, a longtime Legislator with a professional background in EMT issues. The creation of a standing committee should provide a strong focal point for consideration of important emergency planning and management measures this year.

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Fire Districts Association of California L E G I S L A T I V E A R T I C L E Some holdover bills from last year have been reintroduced. Potential revenue enhancers include Senate Bill 45 by Anthony Portantino, which would place a $5.5 billion bond package on the 2022 Ballot to fund various natural resource projects including wildfire prevention. Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 1 by Cecilia Aguiar Curry would place on the Ballot a provision to reduce the vote threshold for passage of local government tax investments in affordable housing and infrastructure improvements to 55% instead of 2/3 vote requirement. The measure was defeated on the Assembly Floor last year, but the author is hopeful that some of the new members who were recently elected will push it over the top in 2021.

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A couple of bills that were supported last year but fell short of enactment include Senate Bill 12 by Mike McGuire to promote retrofit strategies for losses due to wildfires, Senate Bill 63 by Henry Stern to provide additional funds for defensible space programs and other local fire prevention activities, and Senate Bill 109 by Bill Dodd to establish an Office of Wildfire Technology and Research and Development within Cal OES. These bills and many others will be on the Agenda of the upcoming Joint FIRE Legislative Task Force meeting as it continues the work to help construct another successful legislative program this year.

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FDAC Leadership Corner | February 2021 F O U R T R A N S F E R A B L E L E S S O N S F R O M A PA N D E M I C

rom March 15th, 2020 until February 5th, 2021, I was assigned to serve as the EOC Director for my county, turning the strategic goals of three unified commanders into management objectives, and from there to intentional outcomes. The EOC “staff” was comprised of a small and relatively inexperienced Type III all-risk incident management team. While much was learned, and is still being learned from this pandemic, these four lessons are the most transferable as I return to being a fire chief - hopefully, you will find something worthwhile among them.

Acknowledge your ignorance, listen to the experts, never abandon your own judgment. Two things were becoming increasingly clear in the days prior to activating our EOC; the first deployment of our type III team would be on a global pandemic, and I wasn’t sure how to spell epidemiology. Our various elected bodies had enough experience with emergencies to recognize quickly that the scope and complexity of this one would require a level of organization and systems that would quickly exceed the capabilities of public health, and possibly medical services1. What they did not realize is it might very well exceed our IMT capacity as well; more specifically, my incident management capacity. The concept of inheriting a chaotic incident is normal, but this was profoundly humbling because of the foreign nature and magnitude of what we were facing. The first order of business was to acknowledge my ignorance in the management of viral outbreaks. This may seem perfunctory, but it served two important purposes: it demonstrated an ego which was probably right-sized by confirming what they suspected, and it established a responsibility of the technical experts to communicate with a novice in their profession. These in turn enabled my “listening to the experts.” Listening in a leadership role is neither abdication nor polite tolerance, it is actively establishing what is meant, what is known, what is inferred, and what is missing. This kind of listening always generates specific questions and clarifications necessary to translate general discussion into detailed execution (especially planning and logistics) – it is not always appreciated. In the fire service we start our incidents with certainty that we do not have all the information; we knowingly start from a point of known unknowns. To narrow the universe of unknowns we are intense observers (think “size-up” here). I’m a fan of Air Force Colonel John Boyd’s “OODA Loop” (Observe, Orient, Decide, 1 To be clear, this is no shortcoming of public health or medical services. Indeed, their adaptation in the whole has been miraculous. Their technical expertise, passion for the work, and endurance have saved countless patients. The statement simply recognizes that they do not get the regular opportunity to surge unfamiliar resources toward the management of emergencies that clearly overwhelm their primary organization. The California fire service, conversely, has that happening regularly, we expect it. We have built extensive systems and accrued valuable experience due to the frequency of managing incidents which require more capacity than most singular organizations have.

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Act) – a tool developed in the 1950’s as the jet-aged speed of aerial combat required a structured but continuous process for decision making in an unknown, highly fluid, and dangerous environment. After just a few operational periods it occurred to me that public health was accustomed to starting programs/projects/clinics with most of the knowns in hand. Understandably then, it was far more familiar for them to get right into decisions, act on them, observe results, orient to the new conditions, and start another round of decisions. I was out of sync with their experiences, and in many areas, they were correct, especially at the beginning when we had so little new information to go on and past practice prevailed. As more new information was revealed however, especially novel information that was different from their experiences and training, the necessity to observe and orient before “deciding” came into focus – we started getting aligned. This felt eerily like our rapid deconstruction of tactical positive pressure ventilation as the NIST research facts of its dangers became overwhelming, despite our years of “experience” as its practitioners. Edward R. Murrow was on to something, “Everyone is a prisoner of [their] own experiences.” Here is where it became clear that, notwithstanding my inexperience with pandemics, I could not abandon my judgment as a manager of emergencies, of incidents with known unknowns. In the summer as California was experiencing its second surge, I asked for some assistance building out thresholds for assessing when primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency (i.e., PACE) strategies (and what it would take to support them) would be appropriate. These considerations met a chilly reception, some “don’t overthink it” or “that’s really not likely”, and “I just don’t see that happening” comments were provided with technical expert confidence. When pressed about why this was really necessary, I pointed to the

current surge in cases (which far exceeded previous expert “likelihood”), and because viruses mutate – sometimes for the worst; probably should have bet a Venti coffee on that last one. Incident management, regardless of its typology, is always about organizing chaos among known unknowns toward intentional outcomes. Never abandon your overall management judgement to narrow technical expertise. The distance between an EOC and “the field” is farther than we think. For those incidents that escape an initial response and extend 48-96 hours, my limited experience has been that EOC’s “supporting” the incident and field commanders “managing” the incident usually get by without ever having to consolidate around a single planning cycle, singlepoint ordering, or a single IAP. After this period of time most of the direct threats to life from incidents (except wildfire and prolonged flooding) start to stabilize through management intervention or subsidence of potential risk. Not so with a global pandemic. At eleven-months and counting, we’ve seen some significant gaps between EOC (strategic) “support” and field (tactical) operations (think testing, CICT, immunizations, prehospital care, receiving facility intake capacity, etc.). All these operations are essential to managing the pandemic risk to life safety. Without the full integration of our EOC’s providing strategic direction (goals) for operations and integrating support specifically through centralized planning and logistics functions, large-scale long-lasting and complex incidents will experience a disconnect between goals and outcomes. Our first disconnect was between the existence of PPE and having enough to distribute, then it was between having tests and having enough results soon enough to matter, then it was between the longstanding practice of contact tracing and scaling it to a level that could be effective. And now it is the distance between a vaccine, and the vaccination of our communities before mutations escape it. The distance between these gaps is best closed from both directions. We in the fire services are notoriously narrow sighted to the well-established geography of emergency management (i.e., mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery), focusing only on what is familiar response. Similarly, EOC’s founded on traditional emergency management phases focus on the supporting elements which they are most familiar with, and which can greatly minimize the frequency, scope, and consequences of a response – mitigation, preparedness, recovery. For this pandemic we have had to support two specific kinds of recovery we (the fire services) are unfamiliar with; economic recovery, and large-scale patient recovery so as not to overwhelm our healthcare systems. EOC’s have had to support the operational aspects of response in ways they are unfamiliar with, especially at the planning and resource management levels. Until we get better at mutually closing this gap of unfamiliarity together, the distance between the EOC and field operations will continue to be farther than we think. Continues On Next Page

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FDAC Leadership Corner | February 2021 F O U R T R A N S F E R A B L E L E S S O N S F R O M A PA N D E M I C “SMART” objectives in the planning process have high yield returns. The process of crafting specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timebound (SMART) objectives is what transforms V-fib activity into intentional outcomes aligned with strategic goals. Nothing new under the sun here, just an affirmation to take time for disciplined thinking when everyone is sure there is no time to do so. Meskimen’s Law comes to mind, “Never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.” The “time” return on investment is directly proportional to the difficulty in completing the SMART elements of the objective. This is because it means you are revealing conflicts to meeting the objective that eluded cursory consideration in general discussion or brainstorming. Capturing an idea on the back of a napkin or whiteboard is the easy part, but it will require plans written to scale, materials, and workers not present during “the revelation” before the idea can be built into something useable. As a general rule, if you cannot change the outcome, don’t expend the resource. People, our most valuable resource, have limits, physical to be sure but just as certainly are their (our) mental and morale limits. When we send people out to meet ambiguous or unattainable objectives, even if there were unlimited material resources to waste, we demoralize them, especially if it becomes a regularity. People like to win, they like succeeding, give them the gift of SMART objectives. Of course, there are no unlimited physical resources, and poor planning has wasteful outcomes. With two major vaccines, each requiring a hyper-cold train, as a two-shot series, with differing intervals, in fixed minimum units of use, for a population being frequently re-prioritized, during a race against virus mutation, detailed planning is beyond essential; let’s be SMART in our planning now, and in the future. Semper Gumby. Finally, with applied judgment, minimized gaps between the EOC and field operations, enabled through the provision of SMART objectives to our people, give those closest to the work explicit permission to adjust as needed in support of the intended outcome. Every written plan starts with a set of current and forecasted conditions which are continually changing. Train your people to fulfill the intended outcome, using the plan as a supporting tool rather than a rigid order. If conditions closest to the work put the plan and the outcome in conflict, alter the plan to pursue the outcome. This requires us to impart leader’s intent (desired outcome) as an overlay to the plan for the operational period. Leader’s intent is the outcome we want, the plan is our best idea of how to get there. Unseen details and changing conditions require standing permission, indeed standing direction, for flexibility of field supervision over operations in support of strategic outcomes. Semper Gumby – always flexible.

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hroughout Zone 1, agencies have been working on many shared services and consolidations in Marin, Sonoma and Humboldt counties to name a few, I anticipate this trend will continue as the impacts of the extended shutdown continue to manifest themselves on local governments.

Chief Richard Pearce, Tiburon Fire Protection District, FDAC Zone 1 Director

As with everyone, COVID-19 brought about an entirely new set of demands that required a rapid response to protect our personnel and constituents in the course of our duties. As we emerge from the first phases of the pandemic, it’s time to focus on recovery and mitigation. The relaxing of the Shelter in Place is welcome news in hopes of opening businesses, getting people back to work and generating prosperity. As for mitigation, agencies have been working with County H&HS in standing up and supporting Points of Distributions (PODS) for vaccines. We have been able to develop robust operations for the vaccinations of Fire, EMS, Healthcare workers and the most at risk constituents. Our only limitation at this point is the availability of vaccinations. We will continue to monitor developments and impacts to the economy. I fear this will be a long slog moving forward with many challenges and opportunities for the fire service.

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We are hoping for substantial rain in moderation to restore our water table and fuel moistures, while limiting the impact to the many burn scars we have garnered of the past several years. In closing, I would like to express my appreciation for your support of Zone 1 and look forward to seeing everyone in person very soon.

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Fire Districts Association of California F D A C Z O N E 2 R E P O R T

ecently, taking the Zone Director position of FDAC Zone 2 has in many ways opened my eyes and made me realize the work being done legislatively to protect and benefit not only Fire Districts, but the California Fire Service.

Chief Kyle Heggstrom, Linda Fire Protection District, FDAC Zone 2 Director

Zone 2, like all of California, enters 2021 frustrated. All of us had developed hope that 2021 would be the change that we all needed. It was supposed to be the year to get back to the normal we have all taken for granted. The tailspin we have all endured still continues. Zone 2 is still trying to recover from an extreme fire season that was shadowed by social distancing and other COVID precautions. Large wildland fires that plague the State continue to become more challenging. Fires are larger, longer, and more complex than ever. The glimmer of winter has not produced enough rain to calm the nerves of fire administrators. As we continue to navigate the pandemic, we work with our local public health departments to assist in any way we can to alleviate the impact of COVID-19. With education, vaccine distribution, and hospital help, we do whatever necessary. It’s difficult in the fire service both professionally and personally to not be able to mitigate the pandemic. The fire service takes pride in adapting and overcoming all situations. When we are faced with something bigger than ourselves, it becomes overwhelming.

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On a positive note, Zone 2 continues to remain major players in the California Mutual Aid system, understanding the importance of this participation and meeting the needs of the State of California. Zone 2 is growing in population with people moving in the North state for various reasons. This has created growth throughout Zone 2. Numerous districts continue to look at the opportunities of annexation, consolidation, or some form of merger. While the world, the nation, and California deal with these difficult times, it is humbling. It is humbling to watch first responders and health care professionals continue doing what they do best, serving the community unconditionally. We will continue to navigate virtual learning, Zoom meetings, and many other no contact interactions. This has been tough for Fire Districts that depend on inperson training for continuity of operations. In closing, 2021 again will be challenging for the California fire service. Not only with COVID, but with the upcoming fire season, budgets, and the overall unknown of when our normal will return. We will continue with positive outlooks and adapt like we have always done.

A joint powers authority formed to enable fire protection districts to protect the communities they serve. www.fasisjpa.org FDAC

Fire Districts Association of California F D A C C O N T I N U E S I T S S U P P O R T O F T H E N A T I O N A L S P E C I A L D I S T R I C T S C O A L I T I O N E F F O R T S

pearheaded by the California Special Districts Association (CSDA), the National Special Districts Coalition (NSDC) has been working tirelessly to ensure the more than 30,000 special districts that were left out of direct access to previous COVID-19 federal relief would be included in any potential state and local government pandemic assistance.

California Specific Impact NSDC recently shared the results of a survey they took on February 5, 2021, to gauge updated impacts on special districts. Below are top line figures.

The Special Districts Provide Essential Services Act (H.R. 535 and S. 91) would allocate critically needed financial relief to special districts that have experienced unforeseen expenditures, decreases in revenue, or both, as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis. According to the Coalition, nationally, the pandemic’s tool on special districts totals an estimated $30.5 billion through FY 2021. More than half of special districts are either unlikely to maintain current staffing levels of essential workers or are uncertain that they can through the end of FY 21.

The pandemic’s fiscal toll on special districts appears to be greater than previously projected following a July 2020 survey of California’s special districts.

H.R. 535 is sponsored by California’s House of Representative Member John Garamendi. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) is the sponsor of S. 91. In the NSDC letter of support to Speaker Pelosi, Leader Mc Carthy, and Leader McConnell, “While some special districts have achieved access to the Coronavirus Relief Fund through limited state and county allotment of funds, the vast majority have yet to receive aid to offset their COVID-19 relate expenditures, which were unforeseen during the previous budget process. This is due in large party to the omission of special districts from the ‘unit of local government’ definition within the CARES Act and the lack of explicit Treasury guidance on special districts’ eligibility for funding. As a result, some of our nation’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities served by special districts have received little to no federal support for the ongoing provision of their essential services.” The U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee met recently to consider a $350 billion relief bill for state and local governments’ COVID relief. Unfortunately, H.R. 535, the Special Districts Provide Essential Services Act was not included in the initial legislative language. FDAC encourages all of its members to support NSDC efforts. Additional details can be found at www.nationalspecialdistricts.org.

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• Overall Expected Impact, March 2020-December 2021: $2.43 billion • Total Impact to-date (Feb. 5, 2021): $1.92 billion • Proportion of districts reducing their essential services: 42 percent • Proportion of districts reducing their workforce: 33 percent • Districts receiving federal, state, local pandemic relief of some kind: 11 percent Fifty-eight (58) percent responding serve disadvantaged communities. Among those, 47 percent have reduced or anticipate reducing essential services. Only 10 percent of these districts have received any form of COVID relief. Visit www.nationalspecialdistricts.org to add your support of H.R. 535 and S. 91.

FDAC IS MOVING W E A R E O N T H E

M O V E !

DAC continues to adjust to the new realities we face during the pandemic and try to anticipate what challenges our association will be facing post-pandemic. With the vaccine roll-out slowly underway, we recognize that some of the impact of COVID-19 will be more permanent and “business as usual” may look very different. Each one of us, at FDAC, has discovered how to do our job remotely and serve the association in a virtual world. There have been many challenges, in particular with conferences and in-person trainings, but together FDAC and volunteer leaders have made it all work on behalf of the members we serve. We are packing up our belongings and transferring technology and assets to our new location. 808 R Street, Suite 209 Sacramento, CA 95811. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!

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Fire Districts Association of California F I S C A L F I T N E S S H O L I S T I C A P P R O A C H T O A D D R E S S I N G C O R E P R I O R I T I E S : S E R V I C E S , R E S E R V E S , C A P I TA L , P E N S I O N S Presented by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and NHA Advisors February 26, 2021 | 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. Register Today! Key Topics • Market Update • How/where can I borrow money and at what rate? How do investors view fire districts? • Fiscal Sustainability • Taking a holistic approach to developing policies and solutions • Capital Funding Options • Grants, loans, bonds; voter approved (new revenue) • CalPERS Update: Popular Cost Management Strategies for Growing Unfunded Liabilities • UAL Restructuring Concept: What, Why, How for Fire Districts • Pension Bond Options (Shapes/Sizes/Structures) + benefits, risks, policies, and red flags

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Session Summary This webinar will include a robust discussion on fiscal sustainability for Fire District’s and the importance of taking a holistic approach to addressing core priorities: Services, Reserves/Liquidity, Capital Needs, and Growing Pension Liabilities. These priorities all compete for the same resources and impact each other in a direct way. Developing policies and comprehensive funding solutions is beneficial for the longterm fiscal sustainability of your District. Developing funding solutions that deliver the lowest borrowing cost while maintaining liquidity and resiliency against future economic downturns is critical. With interest rates (tax exempt for capital or taxable for pension debt) at historical lows, market experts from Brandis Tallman a Division of Oppenheimer (a registered Broker/Dealer) will share recent fire district case studies including who is buying fire district debt. Members from NHA Advisors (a registered Municipal Advisor) will share their views, best practices, and strategies for developing a holistic approach to funding services and capital. Their pension group will also provide an update on CalPERS and various cost management strategies and pension policies that their clients and other agencies have been implementing.

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Fire Districts Association of California PA R T N E R H I G H L I G H T – F DA C E B A – H E A LT H A N D W E L L N E S S Partner Highlight – FDAC EBA – Focus on Health and Wellness The FDAC EBA continues to expand its health and wellness benefits and services to fire districts throughout the state while maintaining low health renewals. Over the past seven years, FDAC EBA’s medical program has averaged 1.5% annual renewals for its Blue Shield program and 2.8% for its Kaiser program. Over the same time, the EBA’s Delta Dental program and VSP vision program have not seen any rate changes. For 2021, FDAC EBA is enhancing its medical program by including the CordicoFire wellness program and a wellness stipend for firefighters. CordicoFire is a web-based app designed to help first responders receive the appropriate mental health and wellness support and guidance. The CordicoFire wellness features and benefits for Firefighters and EMS include:

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• 24/7/365 Proactive Wellness Solution • In-Hand, On-Demand Access to Firefighter Wellness Tools • Organization-Branded and Customized App • Confidential Access + Utilization • Apple iOS + Android Compatible • App Admin Portal Access • Adverse Childhood Experiences • Alcohol Abuse • Anger Management • Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Worry • Behavioral Health Tools • Brain Health + Cognitive Strength • Burnout • Cancer Awareness • Chaplain Support • Compassion Fatigue • COVID-19 Resources • Critical Incidents • Depression • Emotional Health • Family Support • Financial Fitness • Firefighter Wellness • Goal-Setting and Achievement • Grief and Loss • Healthy Habits • Heart Health • Injury Prevention • Intrusive Traumatic Images: Coping Strategies • Local Resources

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• Major Life Events • Marriage Guidance • Mental Toughness • Mindfulness • Mobile One-Touch Calling • Moral Injury • New Hire: Keys to Wellness • Nutrition • Parenting Tips • Peak Performance • Peer Support • Physical Fitness • Physical Therapist Videos • Posttraumatic Stress • Psychological First Aid • Push Notifications (Optional) • Relationship Success • Resilience Development • Retirement: Getting Prepared • Self-Care Checklists • Sleep Optimization • Stress Management • Stress Response • Substance Abuse • Suicide Prevention • Supporting Children Who Fear for Your Safety • Teletherapy Portal w/HIPAA Encryption (Optional) • Therapist Finder + Geo-Mapping (Optional) • Trauma • Wellness Push Notifications (Optional) • Wellness Self-Assessment Tools • Wellness + Technology Updates • Wellness Videos • Work-Life Balance • Yoga for First Responders • CordicoFire Anonymous Self-Assessments: Instant Feedback and Educational Guidance • Adult ADHD • Adverse Childhood Experiences • Alcohol Abuse • Cordico Anger Scale • Compassion Fatigue • Depression • Posttraumatic Stress • Resilience • Cordico Sleep Test • Social Isolation • Stress • Well-Being

Additionally, CordicoFire provides anonymous self-assessments with instant feedback and educational guidance designed to help first responders cope and heal. The program addresses:

• Adult ADHD • Adverse Childhood Experiences • Alcohol Abuse • Cordico Anger Scale • Compassion Fatigue • Depression • Posttraumatic Stress • Resilience • Cordico Sleep Test • Social Isolation • Stress • Well-Being

In recognition of the budgetary constraints fire districts are facing for wellness, FDAC EBA has developed a wellness HRA (Health Reimbursement Account) for all fire districts participating in the FDAC EBA medical program. The HRA comes fully funded with $440 per firefighter for a variety of wellness services including: Annual Public Safety Exam (NFPA 1582 compliant): • Hands-On Physical Exam • Vision Exam • Occupational Hearing Exam • Skin Cancer Assessment • Behavioral Health and Sleep Assessment Screenings • Personal Consultation with review of testing results • Cardiopulmonary Assessment: • Echocardiogram (Heart Ultrasound) • Resting EKG • Treadmill Stress Test with EKG • Carotid Arteries Ultrasound • Aortic Aneurysm Ultrasound • Pulmonary Function Test • Cancer and Disease Assessment: • Thyroid Ultrasound • Liver, Gall Bladder, Spleen, and Kidney Ultrasounds • Bladder Ultrasound • Pelvic Ultrasound for Women (external) • Prostate and Testicular Ultrasound for Men • Blood and Laboratory Tests: • Hemoccult Test • Urinalysis • Lipid Panel • Diabetes Tests (Hemoglobin A1C and Glucose) • Complete Blood Count • Comprehensive Metabolic Panel • Thyroid Panel • PSA (men)

• CA-125 (women) • Fitness Evaluation (NFPA 1583–WFI Guidelines): • Muscular Strength and Endurance Evaluation • Aerobic Endurance Evaluation (VO2 Max Calc) • Flexibility Evaluation • Nutrition and Diet Recommendations • Personal Fitness Recommendations • Body Weight and Composition • Medical Clearances: • OSHA Respirator Medical Clearance • Firefighter Medical Clearance NFPA 1582 • Chest X-Ray with Radiologist review • QuantiFeron Gold TB Blood Test • PPD TB Skin Test • HIV Screening Test • TD Titer • TD Vaccine • Varicella Titer • Varicella Vaccine • Meningococcal Titer • Meningococcal Vaccine • Hepatitis A Titer • Hepatitis A Virus Screening Test • Hepatitis B Titer • Hepatitis B Virus Screening Test • Hepatitis C Virus Screening Test • MMR and MMR Titer • Polio Titer • Polio Vaccine Booster • Testosterone Blood Test • C Reactive Blood Test • HIV Screening • OSHA Respirator Mask Fit Testing (PortaCount) • OSHA Respirator Mask Fit Testing (PortaCount)

Now more than ever, assisting first responders in receiving the proper mental health and wellness resources occupies fire leadership throughout the state. Should you be interested in learning more about the FDAC EBA programs or wanting to take advantage of these programs please contact Dawn Almanzor; dalmanzor@keenan.com, P: 916.859.7160 x 4174.

FDAC