BY GEORGE KUHN
A fire service administrator (FSA) competes with numerous other city services to receive money for his organization. To obtain these funds, the FSA must provide research with accurate data and statistics, become involved in community projects, and develop a working relationship with the officials who will vote on the proposal. In addition, the FSA must also research alternate ways to fund the proposal if it is not approved.
Public safety (fire and police) budgets can take up to 35 percent or more of a community’s entire operating budget. Other services such as recreation, public works, and libraries will also be developing proposals for their budgets. An FSA must present a very persuasive proposal to the city council to receive more funds from the community’s operating budget.
When developing a proposal, an FSA must “use statistics, surveys, and other reports from departments in other jurisdictions and union locals,” says Andrew Caldwell in “Can You Justify the Cost?”1 City officials need to examine accurate data and statistics. “Any request an FSA makes must be justified so that the public official has no problem defending to other departments his or her decision to give the fire and EMS department funding for a project and why that funding request superseded theirs,” according to the Federal Emer-gency Management Agency (FEMA).2
For example, if a department has received new apparatus and one of the arguments was that the new apparatus would decrease response times, the FSA would have to provide reliable response time data. To show the best response time, the FSA should not take the average response time of all the incidents to which the fire department responds. These response times may include nonemergency calls, fire prevention details, and emergency response times. The nonemergency calls will raise the response times above an acceptable time frame. Instead, the FSA should average in only the emergency response times. The report should indicate how these statistics were tabulated, which will help officials understand what they are examining.
When an FSA decides he would like to develop a new department program (e.g, a confined space program), he should conduct surveys to find out who would benefit from the service (local industries, telephone and electric companies, public works). Some survey questions might include the following:
- Have any confined space incidents happened before?
- Do any of the local industries have a confined space team already?
- How many confined space permits are issued monthly?
- Does the general public understand the nature of confined space rescue?
When an FSA is trying to promote a new department program, he must consider who it will benefit—the department, the community, or both? For example, an FSA decides after researching other similar departments that developing an EMS system within his department is a positive benefit. Almost 60 percent of all service calls are now EMS-related. An EMS program would significantly raise the number of calls to which a department responds.
The FSA now needs funds to train the personnel to obtain EMT certification. In addition, members will have to continue with their EMS education to retain certification. This recertification will most likely take place on the fire personnel’s private time. To help the members of the department stay motivated, a monetary stipend may be needed to make them want to continue with their education.
The FSA now has to convince city officials that having fire personnel EMS-trained is beneficial to the community. The FSA also has to convince officials that the funding provided for training and the annual stipend will benefit the community in the long term. This may be presented in a way to show city officials the different types of programs that fire personnel may attend to meet their EMS requirements, including prehospital trauma life support and weapons of mass destruction. In addition, it can be shown how in multicasualty incidents EMS-trained personnel can be used to the best advantage.
The FSA can use graphs and charts to show how fire personnel can be used as triage staff, patient transportation group supervisors, and immediate treatment managers. He can show how the fire department can become the benchmark for other departments to follow.
Before the FSA even suggests such a proposal to the city council, he must examine if such a program is even feasible. Following are some questions you might ask:
- Are there enough personnel willing to become EMT-certified?
- Are there enough personnel available to operate an ambulance as well as fire apparatus?
- Does the community want the fire department to operate an EMS system?
- Where will the equipment be purchased?
- How will the ambulances be maintained?
- Can defibrillators be obtained by grants?
“Make sure your department can execute the program before submitting the idea. Get the training and the education before walking into the decision-making arena. Do not stand in front of an elected official asking for a new program for which no one in the department is qualified, trained, or experienced to oversee. Stand before elected officials with confidence. Know what is needed. Then drive on. If training is needed, go to the decision makers for training funds and with a strategic plan for implementing the program,” adds Caldwell. (1)
One way of getting officials to agree with the department proposal is to become in-volved with city officials unofficially. The FSA should attend political functions and get to know the members who represent the community. Compliment them when they do something beneficial to the community. In-vite them to lunch.
“A good way to begin understanding the motivating factors behind how public officials think and act is to read as many publications as possible from such organizations as the National League of Cities, U.S. Council of Mayors, and International City/County Manage-ment Association,” according to FEMA.
When government officials do something beneficial for the fire department, the department should show appreciation. For example, the state of New Jersey gave fire departments thermal imaging cameras. To demonstrate the benefits of these cameras, we invited members of our council to the county fire academy to participate in a live burn.
Each member who attended was given full turnouts and SCBA and was allowed to observe or participate in the live burn. Council members experienced firsthand what it was like to be in a darkened, hot fire room and how the camera allowed them to find the seat of the fire, locate victims, and look for other means of egress or hidden dangers.
Having strong community relations is a vital part of a healthy fire department. Being involved with the community will always be a benefit when the department needs the community’s support to gain approval for a program. The fire department should become in-volved in local organizations such as the Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus, Little League, and Scouts. When there is a community function, the fire department should use the opportunity to assist the organization and also educate the public on all the services the fire department provides.
“The FSA and the members of his or her organization must realize that there are people of all ages in the community that will respond to their call for help, resulting in a more productive, professional, and successful organization with an outstanding community image,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Having a good public image will only help the FSA get a proposal approved. When the department acts and looks professional, members strive to maintain a higher level of performance. A good image improves the working relationship between officials and the department. This makes it easier to work together on issues. In addition, when the community has a positive image of the fire department, the citizens are more inclined to support the department’s needs.
Having a public information officer (PIO) helps create a positive image. For example, if the department makes a rescue as a result of using the camera, the PIO can create a press release that will make everyone look good. The department can thank officials for the thermal imaging camera used to locate the victim, the public for quick 9-1-1 activation, and the fire department for its professionalism.
An FSA can also use a major incident to have a proposal approved. For example, an FSA has prepared a proposal to implement a hazardous-materials response team. However, the FSA is waiting for the right time to present it. A major haz-mat incident occurs, and officials and the public want to know how to avoid such an incident in the future. The FSA has his pet project ready to submit, and at that time it will be easier to gain approval for it.
The key factor in gaining approval for a proposal is in the presentation. The FSA should rehearse the proposal in front of peers. For the presentation, the FSA should wear a Class A uniform or proper business attire and use plenty of visual aids—including graphs and charts—that are easy to understand. “Key words that should be used include cost effective, maximizing service, available funds, and quality; they will go a long way in getting a favorable reaction to a proposal,” advises FEMA.
If the proposal is approved, do not let the relationship between government and the fire department end at that point. Follow up with what the department will accomplish with the approved money or program. For example, if a confined space program is approved, invite officials to observe or possibly assist with a training evolution.
There is always the possibility that an FSA’s proposal will not be approved. There are also alternate ways to obtain funds for equipment and programs. For example, the Galveston (TX) Fire Depart-ment received a grant from the Historic Preservation Program for two thermal imaging cameras by saying it could use the cameras to find the seat of the fire faster in historical buildings, according to Rodney Slaughter in “Other Sources of Fire Department Funding.”3
To have a proposal approved, an FSA needs a good working relationship with local government officials. Being involved in community programs and projects goes a long way in gaining public support, as does maintaining a professional image. By presenting the proposal in a professional manner, including proper attire and using effective visuals, the FSA can persuade city government to approve the proposal. n
References
1. Caldwell, Andrew. “Can You Justify The Cost?” Fire Engineering, March 2002, Volume 155, 77-84.
2. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Advanced Fire Administration, August 2002, Unit 2.
3. Slaughter, Rodney. “Alternate Sources of Fire Department Funding.” Fire Engineering, September 2001, Volume 154, 82-83.
Bibliography
Moeller, Bruce. “Benchmark Challenge.” Fire Chief, August 2002, Volume 46, 88-90.
Noll, Gregory; Michael Hildebrand; and James Yvorra. Hazardous Materials: Managing The Incident, Second Edition, Fire Protection Publications, 1995, 121.
GEORGE KUHN is a firefighter/EMT with the Linden (NJ) Fire Depart-ment, where he has served for 11 years. He has an associate’s degree in fire science from Union County (NJ) Community College and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from the University of Maryland.
