Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
October 3, 2007
One of the most popular public services in O’Fallon is the Fire Department. For more than 100 years, the Volunteer Fire Department has provided exceptional service to the citizens of O’Fallon.
As the city has grown, the volunteers have managed to keep up with the growth in calls for service. Last year, the City hired McGrath Consulting to conduct a study of the O’Fallon Fire Department. The purpose of the study was to provide recommendations on how to take the fire department into the future.
Dr. Tim McGrath interviewed the mayor, aldermen, City staff, and many fire fighters. He evaluated all aspects of the Fire Department and submitted his final report to the City in June. Public presentations were made to both the Public Safety Committee and the Fire Department that outlined the recommendations.
The report indicated that the O’Fallon Fire Department is strong and he felt the department could stay volunteer for many years. The major recommendations were more focused on administrative structure than the actual operations of the Fire Department. In particular, Dr. McGrath discovered that the Fire Department’s structure as an independent corporation was in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA allowed for volunteer fire fighters in a public agency such as a City government or Fire District, but not as a private corporation.
While the Fire Department received property tax money from the City, it was not technically a City department. The Fire Department also serves a large area outside of O’Fallon in Shiloh and unincorporated area, and the department received tax revenue from the City and the rural fire district but operated independently of both.
Because of the FLSA’s restrictions, the Fire Department needed to restructure as a public agency in order to remain volunteer. The Fire District that serves the unincorporated area around O’Fallon does not have the resources to take over the Fire Department, so it was a natural fit that the City assume oversight of the department.
The City Council approved an ordinance on Monday officially recognizes the Fire Department as a City department within the Department of Public Safety, gives the Mayor authority to appoint the Fire Chief (with Council approval), provides for the creation of rank structure as approved in the budget and makes members of the department City employees.
Immediately following the ordinance’s approval, the mayor moved that the City appoint current Fire Chief Brent Saunders as the City’s Fire Chief. The motion passed unanimously.
What does this mean to you? For the average O’Fallon resident, you will not notice any difference. The department will still be volunteer, it will still have the same fire chief, and your taxes will not increase as a result of the change. The department will still respond to calls in the same professional manner as before.
The changes are a necessary step in the implementation of the program changes suggested in the Fire Study and we hope to utilize volunteers in the Fire Department for many years to come. We are excited about the opportunities to make the Fire Department better through its closer relationship with the City.
While we have been working on these changes, there have been two rumors circulating that are both false. Rumors like this can cause confusion and suspicion, so I would like to dispel them here to avoid any future questions.
Rumor #1: The City will replace the volunteer fire department with a full time career fire department.
Answer: False
The Fire Study does not recommend that the City make the firefighters full time employees. In fact, Dr. McGrath identified several steps that could prevent the department from ever becoming a full time career department. As mentioned above, the changes are primarily administrative not operational.
From the perspective of the average firefighter, not much will be different. Brent Saunders will still be the Fire Chief on a part-time basis and the department’s day-to-day operations will be unchanged. The volunteer firefighters currently receive $5 per call and that will not change, except the check will come from the City rather than the Fire Department.
Rumor #2: The City is removing Fire Chief Brent Saunders and will hire a full time fire chief.
Answer: False
The report recommended that the Fire Chief become full time at some point, but not now. Decisions on any full time positions in the Fire Department (including the Fire Chief) will be made through the budget process and will require City Council approval.
As mentioned above, Brent Saunders was appointed Fire Chief at Monday’s City Council meeting and will continue to serve in his traditional capacity as the part time fire chief. The Fire Study recognized the need to for greater administrative oversight of the department and recommends that the City hire a full time chief within the next 18 months.
When the City decides to make the position full time, Brent will have to decide whether he wants to apply for the job since he already has a full time job elsewhere. In the meantime, he is the fire chief under the same terms as he is currently serving as chief. His pay and duties will remain the same.
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