Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Efficiency being the goal, the village of Lake Zurich is taking a closer look at its fire department’s organization and operations.
Joe Pozzo, a project manager with the International City/County Management Association’s Center for Public Safety Management (ICMA-CPSM), came before the Village Board on Feb. 17 with the findings of the operational analysis the village had authorized.
“This analysis is designed to provide the village with a thorough and unbiased review of services provided by the Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department,” read the organization’s executive summary.
Overall, CPSM recommended the department keep its number of administrative staff, as well as its staff and command personnel, the same.
“You have a very good fire department — and I don’t say that every time I do a presentation, and I make that judgment because of the way that they staff and deploy now,” Pozzo said.
Officials had been wanting to study the village’s police and fire departments for the past few years to determine if and how the fire department could be operating more efficiently.
Between 2010 and 2014, constricted financial resources forced the village to reduce staff by 19 full-time positions, and officials wanted to know if the fire and police departments needed any reducing, as well.
To keep costs to a minimum, village officials decided to study the fire department and have Police Chief Steve Husak look at the police department on his own. The analysis of the fire department cost the village $50,000.
Beyond staffing, CPSM looked how the fire department handled and paid overtime for its operational staff, and determined that the department might be paying its employees time-and-a-half more often than was allowed under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Under its current schedule, the fire department’s average work week is 56 hours — or a maximum of 216 hours in a 27-day cycle. According to FLSA, the maximum number of hours a firefighter can work without getting overtime pay 53 — or 204 hours in a 27-day cycle.
Pozzo noted that leave hours or unproductive time, under the FLSA, could be deducted from scheduled time to reduce overtime liability. He suggested the village and the Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department review and bargain how overtime was paid.
“It’s something that I think you should look at because I think you could bring some efficiencies back to the organization,” Pozzo said. “Because if you are not spending overtime dollars, then you can apply those dollars in other places.”
Other areas in which Pozzo said that fire department could be more efficient included spending less time at the hospital during ambulance transport runs, expanding the performance measures that the department’s employees are held to and combining two of the departments four stations — station 1, located at 321 S. Buesching Road, and station 4, located at 21970 Field Parkway in Deer Park.
thanks Dan
#1 by Drew Smith on March 14, 2015 - 3:31 PM
I believe what the report is suggesting is that time paid that is not actually worked not be used in calculations used to determine when OT is to be paid. Few FDs do this as most consider it OT if it is not part of the regular shift. While that may be the practice it is not the law in the Fair Labor Standards Act. To change their past practice will require bargaining.
To illustrate one possible situation where this could occur use vacation time. If within a work cycle (which is not always the same as a pay period) a member takes a paid day off one day then works an extra shift on another day, some or all of the hours worked on the extra shift may only have to be paid at straight time and not one and one-half straight time. Again, if this has not been the past practice changing it will most certainly require bargaining unless labor does not mind that change.
#2 by Chuck on March 14, 2015 - 3:03 PM
Typical study-leave the Chiefs and administrators untouched and screw the Indians
#3 by Dennis on March 14, 2015 - 12:38 PM
“Pozzo noted that leave hours or unproductive time, under the FLSA, could be deducted from scheduled time to reduce overtime liability. He suggested the village and the Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department review and bargain how overtime was paid” So he is saying only pay them when there’s a call but not when there is downtime? Who is this Joe Pozzo and how does he have any idea of how a fire department works?
#4 by Mike on March 14, 2015 - 9:32 AM
I’m suprised they did as well as they did. The 3 out of the 4 stations are jump companies and station 1 was at times just and ambulance only due to being staffed with 2 people. The stations they want to close is 1 -headquarters and 4 which is the newest station built. So that would mean building another new station on the taxpayers dime. The funny thing about LZ is they have pissed away more money then God on revitalizing their downtown area instead of just realizing that the route 22 and 12 area is their money maker. As per the flsa comment about not paying them to sleep good luck with that, it will never happen.
#5 by Chris B on March 14, 2015 - 8:57 AM
Read the bottom paragraph.. Waste less time at the hospital..Like we have any control on how busy the ER is… and Combine 2 stations… Oh like close two to save money. That is the real reason for this study..