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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

M A 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 Angelique Grellus, Coordinator Dani Dejeu, Assistant David Garrison, Graphic Designer 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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Fire Protection Districts We Have Served Bodega Bay Fire Protection District

Graton Fire Protection District

Moraga Orinda Fire Protection District

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Julian Cuyamaca Fire Protection District

North Central Fire Protection District (Fresno County)

San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District

Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District

Kentfield Fire Protection District

North County Fire Protection District (San Diego County)

Sonoma County Fire Protection District

Central Fire Protection District (Santa Cruz County)

Lakeside Fire Protection District

Novato Fire Protection District

Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District

Crest Forest Fire Protection District

Montecito Fire Protection District

Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District

Woodside Fire Protection District

FDAC Brandis Tallman | 580 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 | (415) 446-7145 Brandis Tallman is a division of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. 3425532.1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE M A Y 2 0 2 1

G Jim Comisky, South Lake County Fire Protection District

reetings my fellow FDAC members. FDAC hosted a very successful Virtual Annual Conference on April 13-14 with the hard work of our Conference Committee and FDAC Staff. The feedback was all positive and the content was very informative and pertinent. We are planning for an in-person conference in Napa in April of 2022, but knowing that we can pull off a virtual conference is comforting. Please plan on attending the Annual Conference in 2022. The networking and developing relationships make us as a California Fire Service even stronger. As we start out our Spring season and the dramatic lack of rain this winter, I fear that we are seeing what I had feared and mentioned in February. Our vegetation fuel conditions are what we would see late in the year, during a normal year. As such, our Fire Chiefs will be busy ramping up their forces for what may stack up to be yet another devastating Wildfire Season. With that possibility, we need to watch our personnel for overtime fatigue. For many Districts last Fire Season, if you weren’t on a deployed piece of equipment you were working to cover the District. Overtime fatigue or burnout has a direct connection to workers comp issues. Keep an eye on the troops, they are our most valued assets! Our Joint Legislative Task Force has been very active in reviewing bills this Legislative Session. FDAC is currently the Chair and watching out for your best interest. This will be a very busy year in regards to Legislation particularly due to the recall of Governor Newsom.

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There is still a direct threat to Fire Districts to be able to deliver Emergency Medical Services from engine and ambulance-based platforms. The State Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) is pushing this issue. They are trying to implement rules and policy that we have no say in the development of. We are working with Cal Chiefs, Metro Chiefs, City Chiefs, CSFA and CPF to fight this. Should they be successful, we may lose the right to respond on Medical Aid calls. I will keep you apprised of significant changes in this matter. Should you want more clarity on the matter please don’t hesitate to contact me. Should your District need any assistance or guidance as we move into Fire Season, please reach out to your Zone Director or FDAC Staff. Remember to take care of yourself, both mentally and physically. Stay Safe, Be Well!

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

NEW FDAC LIFE MEMBERS C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

he FDAC Board of Directors granted three Life Member designations at their last Board Meeting. Recipients include Chief Steve Hall, Chief Steve Kovacs and Chief Mike McMurry. Life membership is granted to individuals who have been active members of the Association and performed outstanding service to the Association. Congratulations to Chief Hall, Chief Kovacs and Chief McMurry! Thank you for your service to FDAC and California’s Fire Protection Districts. We look forward to your continued participation in the association.

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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

Budget

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

Back in January when Governor Newsom released his 2021-2022 Budget proposal for legislative consideration, the Governor appropriately also proposed changes to the current 2020-2021 fiscal year for high priority issues, including wildfire prevention and preparedness. In early April, the Governor and legislative leaders agreed on a $536 million plan (compared to the $323 million from the January proposal) to get more money out the door sooner and put boots on the ground in advance of the fast-approaching wildfire season. This week, just days before the Governor is set to release his May Revise Budget, the Senate has proposed some significant changes. During the Senate Budget Sub #2 Committee hearing on Monday, Senators discussed this new package with the Administration which would provide more long-term funding which does the following: Establishes the Wildfire Prevention and Resilience Fund (WPRF) and transfers $4 billion General Fund (GF) into WPRF, which is subject to annual legislative appropriation, and transfers $4 billion GF into WPRF. States that $1 billion ($800 million WPRF and $200 million from GGRF) shall be appropriated annually for five years. Appropriates $800 million from WPRF and $200 million from GGRF in 2021-22 to specific wildfire prevention and resiliency programs. Provide accountability measures and assessment of effectiveness.

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A trailer bill is expected to be released soon to lay out more details on the WPRF, which will fund specific programs to promote healthy wildlands, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, and make communities more resilient to wildfires. There was no vote taken in Committee, keeping the item held open for now. The Senate’s entire wildfire funding package can be found here (starting on page 20). Recall The effort to remove Governor Newsom passed a major milestone this week as Secretary of State Shirley Weber confirmed the recall petition has enough signatures to trigger an election. More than 1.6 million Californians signed the recall petition - well over the 1.495 million verified signatures needed to trigger a recall election. This confirmation will be followed by a period of time where people can withdraw their signatures from the petition. The deadline to withdraw signatures is June 8. County elections officials have to report the withdrawn signatures to the state by June 22. After that, if the signatures still hold, election officials have 30 days to come up with a budget. Then there is another 30-day period for the Legislature to review that cost estimate. Expect an election to be scheduled for some time in the Fall.

The list of candidates looking to replace Governor Newsom if the recall is successful is slowing growing. On the Republican side, the most notable candidates at the moment are former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Newsom’s 2018 challenger John Cox, and former Olympian turned reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner. By April 30, committees on both sides of the recall fight were required to file semi-annual reports with the Secretary of State disclosing all of their fundraising activity to date. So far, political fundraisers have set up six campaign committees. The pro-recall side came out ahead, with $5.45 million raised, state reports show, while the committees spending in Newsom’s defense brought in $4.56 million. Assembly Committee on Emergency Management The Assembly Committee on Emergency Management recently conducted an informational hearing on “The Role of Cal OES and Emergency Management in Providing an Equitable Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Local fire departments were praised by many of the state officials for their participation and cooperation in rapidly providing essential services, including vaccination support to the public throughout the state, with a particular emphasis on service to lower income communities. The Committee received information designed to assist in improving communication and coordination between state and local agencies in the future. Continues On Next Page

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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 Joint Legislative Task Force Under the leadership of Chiefs Jeff Willis and Ted Peterson, the Joint Legislative Task Force continues the process of identifying and prioritizing bills to obtain position approval from the Boards and commence legislative advocacy to achieve favorable results. We are pleased to report that measures being actively supported to date, are alive and well and moving in the legislative process. The Task Force also has created a sub-committee on the multitude of introduced measures relating to Wildland-Urban Interface insurance risk under the direction of Chief Frank Frievalt. Chief Frievalt has enlisted members of the emergency management committee, fire prevention officer committee and other chiefs to assist him in targeting bills that, if improved and enacted, could make a meaningful contribution to making these communities more fire safe. The next Task Force meeting is scheduled for May 14th and it will include a full discussion of important wildfire preparedness and prevention legislation.

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F D A C L e a d e r s h i p C o r n e r | M AY 2 0 2 1 T H E L O S S A N D R E P L A C E M E N T O F O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L P I L L A R S

C Chief Frank Frievalt, Mammoth Lakes Fire Protection District, FDAC 1st Vice President

an you recall those first years of your career? It was the living adventure of young people selected into something honorable, something larger than themselves, in an environment with real dangers, some we could see, others we had no clue even existed. There was a complexity of equipment we had only read about or had a cursory hands-on introduction to during a training evolution in rookie school. We were walking into someone else’s home and family yet told where we would sleep and what our chores were, what company we’d been assigned to; our first experience into the fraternal-professional interpersonal dynamics of a workplace where we’d spend 1/3 of our lives. Over the following years we would run calls, gain experience and confidence in our technical skills, develop a balanced understanding of our needs among the many, make some friends (maybe a few enemies), but mostly we would learn the absolute primacy and necessity of teamwork when organizing chaos and improving the outcome of emergencies, from Battalion Chief to boot. Eventually, the first promotional opportunity would arise, typically from Firefighter to Engineer. This opportunity would reveal a great deal about ourselves and others. Did we want to pursue it? What if we tried and failed? What if we tried and succeeded? What if we sat it out and were on the bus with someone we didn’t trust behind the wheel, or at the pump panel? Did we study with others, or hoard our efforts? Did we pursue it because we felt we could do it right, because we could contribute in a new way? There was a lot of technical information and technique to master – it felt enormous. For all that, it would not be until our second promotional opportunity, typically Captain, that we really looked past ourselves, past the technical side of the job and considered more fully the people, the organization, and the overall environment we would be

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fully responsible for. It was disruptive and revealing – that rock-solid confidence in knowing your job started feeling spongy; surefootedness required a lot more situational awareness. Pardon my visual thinking here; we eventually, for the first time probably, looked up to gain awareness, and saw the vast concrete ceiling under which we’d been working for years……It had the feel of a massive structure, inestimable weight suspended overhead, spalled and worn, something like patch marks here and there, but supported by a dispersed group of pillars, no pattern really, nothing like the Parthenon, but clearly these were holding up the ceiling – no doubt about it. And then came a deep groan, then a crack, it was a pillar off to our right, it was crumbling, and then it was gone. Our eyes shot up to the ceiling – was it giving way? There was a crack, but had it already been there? Yes, but the gap showing more now – that needs, what, shoring? No, only a solid masonry pillar will do, like the other ones, our eyes drop now, searching among each other, looking for someone who knows where we’ll get a pillar, can’t work in here without one. Then we begin to understand, it is from among us a pillar must be found. Who will it be? Who has been capable, reliable, trustworthy, who can best contribute here… who would each of us trust to hold up the ceiling, to be the leader under which we will work without worry or distraction of collapse? There is no guarantee our organizations will select, within the process of civil service, the same person that informal group consensus might select in my visualized thought above. This is neither a popularity contest nor is it a technical book-smart selection test. It is a genuine form of leader emergence recognized in organizational management since the late 1940’s in which “People surrender their power to individuals whom they believe will make meaningful

contributions to attaining group goals1.” I worked in a place once where the culture self-validated leader emergence a novel unstructured way. Shortly after a promotional announcement came out, there would emerge on the whiteboard next to the headquarters station phone a list, numbers only, corresponding to how many promotions were likely to be made. Then names would start appearing, not all at once, not in order, and eventually fill in, but never by the candidates themselves. It might be altered a bit (dry erase boards are good for that), but it would reach anonymous equilibrium and stay there until the start of the promotional process (usually a multi-part assessment center that took weeks to complete, grade, appeal, etc.). On the day the process was complete, but before any official announcement from the Fire Chief, which would itself take a while because it required meeting with those not selected, the names would be erased from the whiteboard list leaving only the numbers. The candidates knowing their results would now write in their own names on the list. Of course, the top candidates did so eagerly; bottom-of-the-listers participated less enthusiastically, but quick enough to avoid the morbid cultural dishonor of their results being announced formally first…which was less necessary as the list filled in. It was a torturous custom added to a stressful process, but clearly a form of organic leader validation from the those to be led – not an unimportant consideration. It was always awkward if the selection process yielded a candidate or candidates for promotion that was markedly different from the whiteboard…..and not infrequently a tragedy of failed leadership.

All our organizations have pillars, some with more capacity than others. Be mindful of that, support your pillars, maintain them, maybe share their load a little more, and know with certainty that they will disappear at some point; you will need to find their replacement. Help your future leadership candidates understand this situational awareness before the next pillar starts to crumble; shift their gaze up to the ceiling sooner – an early appreciation for what’s overhead has many benefits. Leadership is not for everyone. Notwithstanding the dynamic benefits of shared or situational leadership that everyone can occasionally participate in, the emergent nature of our work needs over-engineered pillars as the mainstay. Best to get started on that now.

Our District recently lost a senior Captain to an off-duty vehicle accident as he was on the way to help a family friend with something at their house. We must replace a pillar now. He was a great one; we became complacent under the certainty of his load-bearing ability. There was a part of his capacity as a leader, as a Captain, that he brought as an individual, that we neither developed nor could intentionally develop. He would have made number 1 on the whiteboard list in another setting among those peers. We will identify another pillar, the work must continue, and he would tolerate nothing less. 1

https://opentextbc.ca/organizationalbehavioropenstax/chapter/leaderemergence/#ch13rfin-26

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Fire Districts Association of California F D A C Z O N E 6 R E P O R T

olerance for Risk

Chief Jeff Willis, Big Bear Fire Authority, FDAC Southern Zone 6 Director

At this time of year most, if not all, Fire Districts are busy working on adopting a budget for the 2021/22 fiscal year. It is at this point when fiscal spending priorities are established. The truth of the matter is that there is rarely enough revenue available to accomplish everything that is desired. Many Fire Districts are experiencing significant increases in the cost of personnel, apparatus, equipment, insurance, and service/vendor contracts. Many Fire Districts, large and small, are struggling to find the appropriate balance of cost versus benefit. We all need to be thankful for our elected official’s tenacity in meaningful debate towards spending priorities. The Fire Chief and executive staff will then be responsible for budget performance throughout the year, once adopted by the governing body. The difficulty, or potential source of conflict, is when priority decisions need to be made regarding organizational response capability, or capacity. This is often a direct reflection of available financial resources and how they are utilized for service demand.

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We must continue to ask ourselves if we are meeting the service level expectation and demand of the community. This is an important question, as it is often the case that the community’s service level expectations may be out of alignment with actual department performance. We must remain steadfast in managing the community’s emergency response expectations by clearly communicating the department’s actual capability. We must also remain vigilant in seeking sensible cost containment strategies to maximize available revenue. In my opinion, the annual budget adoption process is the proving ground that clearly captures a community’s tolerance for acceptable risk, which is best articulated as annual spending priorities and to what level those priorities are funded. This delicate balance of cost versus benefit occurs every year without fail. We all need to respect the challenging budget adoption process and recognize it for what it is; an opportunity to balance service level expectations with available financial resources.

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

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

n 1947, a number of meetings were held at the Linda Town Hall by the people of the community. There were many concerns with the smoke coming from burning sawdust at a local mill. On August 23, 1948, a decision was made by the Yuba County Board of Supervisors to form the Linda Fire Protection District, to serve the 25 square miles in and around the community of Linda. The original fire station was opened in 1948 and was located behind the current fire station location. J.S Martin, John Gledhill, and Jack Dunning were elected as the first Fire Commissioners for the new district and would remain in their elected positions until 1972. At the first meeting held by the Commissioners, Charles Miller was appointed as the Fire Chief. The first fire engine was delivered to the department in September, 1949. The first station was big enough to house two engines, one office and a restroom. The twenty-five volunteer firemen responded to the fires and assisted the strong woman’s auxiliary who responded to the medical aid calls. The old station is still standing today where it is used to perform maintenance on the fire apparatus and for storage of parts and equipment. In1961, the current Station No.1 was built at 1286 Scales Avenue. The majority of the building construction was done by the firemen. In 1972, changes came to the Linda Fire Protection District. Dr. Louis Bugni, Larry Trauma, and Frank Schutte were elected as the new Fire Commissioners. With the change of Commissioners, James Brannon was appointed the new Fire Chief.

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In 1983, Linda Fire Protection District more than doubled its size with the annexation of the Arboga area, located in the south western section of Yuba County. Now protecting fiftythree square miles of residential, farmland and commercial properties, a second fire station was essential. Linda Station No.2 was constructed later the same year.

On February 20, 1986, flood waters rose after a levee broke on the Yuba River behind the Cal-Trans Maintenance Yard. Station No.1 received approximately 6 feet of floodwater inside the station. Most of the inside of the station was destroyed along with a lot of the District’s records. Several of the fire fighter’s homes were severely damaged or destroyed by the muddy flood waters. Thanks to several firefighters who left their personal vehicles at the station, then drove the fire engines to higher ground, no fire equipment was lost. By necessity, Station No.1 was remodeled after the flood and was again remodeled in 2006. Most of the work again was accomplished by the firefighters. In January, 1997, a levee broke on the Feather River near Country Club Road. Several lives were lost and many near misses, as some Linda Firefighter’s and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection personnel were performing sand bagging operations at the site of the levee failure. Flood waters entered Fire Station No.2 this time and flooded several fire fighters homes. The flood waters remained in the Arboga area for an extended period of time. Hazardous Materials were a concern for everyone and a large number of livestock were unable to survive the flooded area. In the fall of 2003, a large community named Plumas Lake was started. The entire Plumas Lake Specific Plan has over 12,000 homes scheduled to be built. The plan caused the Linda Fire Protection District to plan and build a third fire station. Construction for the new station began in March, 2006, at 1765 River Oaks Boulevard, and was completed in January, 2007. The Linda Fire Protection District now has 3 stations, 16 full time personnel, and runs almost 5000 calls a year. It continues to get busier each year like most other Districts throughout the State.

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Fire Districts Association of California PA R T N E R H I G H L I G H T - A R PA - T H E R E S C U E P L A N I S N O W L A W • President Biden signed into law The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) • The bill includes COBRA subsidy updates • The bill addresses and expands ACA subsidies • The bill provides for a temporary increase in the maximum amount that can be contributed to a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCRA) • ARPA continues the credits for employers that voluntarily choose to continue Emergency Family Leave Expansion

n March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion relief bill commonly referred to as The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Overall, the bill will provide relief in many forms, including but not limited to, direct stimulus payments to eligible recipients, unemployment assistance, aid for small businesses, aid to schools, and child tax credits. Below is a summary of the most significant items in the bill from the standpoint of employee benefit plans. COBRA SUBSIDIES From April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021, employees with an involuntary termination or reduction of hours will be eligible to receive a 100% subsidy of health insurance premiums under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). This will effectively allow unemployed individuals (and their spouses and dependent children) to continue employer-sponsored coverage after losing employment without having to contribute towards any portion of their premiums through September 2021. Employees who voluntarily terminated their employment are not eligible, and all other COBRA Qualifying Events do not quality for ARPA’s COBRA subsidy.

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A M E R I C A N

Even an employee who experienced a loss in coverage in the early days of the pandemic would still be eligible for up to sixmonths of free COBRA coverage. Employers who follow the appropriate notice requirements will receive reimbursements equal to the premium amounts — and will have to seek these reimbursements as tax credits. Employers need to provide COBRA notice forms to eligible individuals, and plans will be required to alert people to the availability of the subsidy, their specific enrollment window, and if their subsidy will end before September 2021. These notices will need to be distributed (generally mailed) within 60 days subsequent to April 1, 2021. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is tasked with developing model notices by April 10. 2021. Individuals who previously experienced an involuntary termination (or reduction in hours) but did not elect COBRA, or those who elected and subsequently dropped COBRA coverage, and who are still within their COBRA maximum coverage period, must also be given a second chance to elect COBRA to take advantage of ARPA’s subsidy. If such individuals elect COBRA coverage within 60 days of being notified of the subsidy opportunity, coverage would be provided prospectively from the second election date, not retroactively to the original COBRA event date. There could be a lapse in coverage between the original COBRA event and the new special, second election. Employers cannot force the QB to pay back premiums to take advantage of this second election opportunity. In no case is an individual eligible for more than the COBRA maximum coverage period measured from the original event date.

The subsidy will end immediately if an individual becomes eligible for coverage under another group health plan or Medicare and would also end early if the individual’s maximum period of COBRA continuation coverage (typically 18 months) concludes prior to September 2021. The onus is on the enrollee to inform their former employer that they are no longer eligible for subsidized coverage. ARPA takes this a step further, however, subjecting enrollees who fail to update their former employers about a change in eligibility to a $250 fine and up to 110% of the full subsidy amount if the failure is determined to be deliberate. Employers will recover premiums not paid by COBRA QBs through a payroll tax credit, similar to the manner in which employers recovered mandatory FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act) paid leave costs. If the tax credit exceeds the amount of payroll taxes due for a particular period, the employer can apply for a refundable tax credit. In most cases, however, the employer will have more payroll taxes due for any particular period than the amount of credit they can claim for lost COBRA premiums. Public agencies are eligible for this credit. While this subsidy goes into effect in a matter of weeks, there are still questions yet to be answered. As the DOL releases model notices, regulations and other guidance, we will continue to update clients on the COBRA subsidy.

DEPENDENT CARE FSAS ARPA also provides for a temporary increase (only for 2021), in the maximum amount that can be contributed to a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCRA, also known as a Dependent Care Assistance Plan (DCAP) or a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA)). For 2021 only, ARPA increases the amount that may be elected on a tax-free basis, through a Section 129 DCAP, from $5,000 to $10,500 (or from $2,500 to $5,250 for individuals that are married but filing separately). While these reimbursement accounts exist under IRC Section 129, they have been capped at $5,000 and have not been increased since 1986. While many will applaud this welcome relief, this year has taught many employees to carefully plan their dependent care (day-care/custodial care) expenses because the use-it or lose-it features of this type of plan are still present. Also, ARPA does not amend current nondiscrimination guidance, which means that plans must still ensure that no more than 55% of all dollars in their DCAPs benefit highly compensated workers (generally owners, officers, and/or folks earning $125,000/ year or more). So, employers are welladvised to carefully consider the impact that doubling the deferral limit might have on their plans.

ACA SUBSIDIES In addition to COBRA, the bill also addresses and expands ACA subsidies. ARPA will increase the generosity of ACA subsidies at every level and will cap the cost of premiums at 8.5 percent of an individual’s household income. This will be retroactive to January 1, 2021 and those currently enrolled in an Exchange plan will be able to claim an extra subsidy immediately.

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