Page 4 - The Friday Flyer • July 24, 2015

A-4 THE FRIDAY FLYER JULY 24, 2015
City Council approves job descriptions for
City Fire Department and leases Station 60
BY SHARON RICE
EDITOR, THE FRIDAY FLYER
When the Canyon Lake City Coun- cil held a special meeting last Thursday, July 16, it was their first chance to meet corporately for an update from the in- terim Fire Chief and City Manager since declaring a State of Local Emergency on June 30.
That was the date the City’s contract with Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire ex- pired. It was the same date that a San Bernardino County judge waited until the last possible moment to rule that he wouldn’t require Riverside County Fire to temporarily extend its current con- tract. And it was the date that the River- side County Board of Supervisors voted to offer Canyon Lake a new one-year contract at a cost of $1.75 million.
For those who continue to question why the City of Canyon Lake refused to sign the one-year contract with County Fire, and others who wonder why the City Council waited so long to take ac- tion on a municipal fire department, there are no short answers. (Visit www. cityofcanyonlake.org to read “Press Re- lease regarding Declaration of Local Emergency and Fire Services.”)
As City officials point out, this issue did not develop overnight or even one year ago or five years ago. The City has known for many years that public safety costs were rising faster than its ability to pay for them. City officials have sought for many years to negotiate a solution with County Fire.
The City has been drawing from its reserves to cover the difference between
what the Structural Fire Tax and Util- ity User Tax bring in and what County Fire demands (which is almost half the City’s budget). Now, City Council and Staff have chosen to use the money that remains to form a municipal fire depart- ment that can provide fire protection and cooperative agreements with neighbor- ing cities within a budget the City can sustain.
At last Thursday’s meeting, the City Council approved job descriptions for fire chief, fire captain, fire engineer and firefighter. The job descriptions were de- veloped in coordination with the fire chief of a fire academy that would be able to assist in finding recruits that would match the needs of the department.
Council also approved a salary and wage schedule under which Fire Depart- ment personnel would be City employ- ees and receive hourly wages with a goal of having 24-hour coverage provided by a three-person crew consisting of fire captain, fire engineer and firefighter.
Each Fire Department employee would work part time so the City would not be required to pay into Cal PERS, and would be led by a part-time fire chief working no more than 960 hours per year (due to legal limitation of work hours imposed by Cal PERS). Chief Wilson explained the fire chief prob- ably would change every six months so as not to exceed the 960 hours (or 1,000 hours) limit.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, Council unanimously approved a lease agree-
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Engine 60 brought up the end of the parade at Fiesta Day, with "Paramedic" clearly inscribed on the front of the truck. So far, the City Council has not approved a para- medic position in the City Fire Department, saying the position is too costly. American Medical Response (AMR Ambulance) currently is responding to medical emergencies in Canyon Lake, with fire paramedics occasionally brought in from other jurisdictions if the 911 dispatcher deems it necessary.
244-7373
31780 Railroad Canyon Road Canyon Lake
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