So ive been working with the department of the environment through a grant that they have to procure tax Hydrogen Powered taxi cabs and im trying to get the Fire Department on to that grant so we would at least get one vehicle from there. Actually im meeting with them next week so ill have more updated information. Ok. I think that this is an area that the commission might be able to help you with. Yes, sir. Particularly with toyota. I think it is a great opportunity for collaboration in terms of their product in this department. Im almost complete. Id like to picture at the end in terms of photo in front of bureau of equipment with staff. I never saw a tow truck before so it helps us to be able to see there. I particularly like the tow truck and its size. I really love the emblem on the side of this tow truck. The Police Commission talked a lot about turnout coves. There was some discussion on the Commission Level that we needed a [inaudible] and perhaps the commission needs the adopt a resolution in terms of the turnout coves with the concerns of pmfa. Thats why i appreciate the commissioners questions in terms of that. It seems like the department is on it. Is that an accurate statement . Do you think just a straight question that the commission needs to put an adoption of a resolution in terms of this concern about pfoas in terms of turnout coves . I think that anything that memorializes the commission and this administrations concern for a firefighters safety is an absolute bonus and it memorializes exactly what our intentions are and our feelings are. I would support it 100 . Chief . Yes, absolutely in support of that. Thank you. I just wanted to ask that question because that occurrence might occur within the confines of the commission. One other subject matter, i know it is not on the table, but the discussion came of quoteunquote the chiefs residence. I know that we have some discussions and some concerns about the chiefs residence as a point of information in our interviews. One of the questions on our Interview Questions would the candidate be willing to live in the chiefs residence . We were always under the mind im using a generalization and talking for the commission that we owned well, we control the chiefs residence. We know there is a certain amount of costs that have to go into that to make it quoteunquote livable. But i think at some point we might need that information coming back to us as to where those costs are, where they come from and were being made aware of this new entity that were kind of concerns us that the chief of the Department Might be charged for living in the residence of a building that we thought that we owned. Which is new to us or new to any of us. And definitely is a concern for moist. For myself. Im speaking as a part of the colleague on this commission. But we definitely think well return to that subject matter or do some of our own further asking of questions in terms of the quoteunquote chiefs residence. I just wanted to put that out there that that subject matter is coming down the road. Thank you very much, captain. With all the jurisdictions that we have, i think i saw your presence in meetings with the city as well. And i know that responsibility levels, antique vehicles, placement, moving vehicle, parades, participation, without Department Participation within your unit and lieutenant wong seems like an impossibility. I know that our members are the boots on the ground. But in earlies y the in terms of getting to our suppressions or medical emergency, if we dont have the gas or the tools, it hurts us. So there is much appreciation coming from this commission. Thank you very much, chief rivera. Thank you very much, lieutenant. Commissioner hardeman . Thank you for all of your remarks. All to the point. The one thing that oh, i dont know whether it was last year some time on the turnouts there was a something to do with the manufacturer and what the components are of the turnouts. But i certainly want to vote to thwart our attempts to discourage more than a discovery. Theres a big pot of gold for somebody waiting to invent a turnout that protects and keeps you cool. Though are the two biggest problems. And the way theyre manufactured now, like i said when i first became a commissioner because im a hotblooded person and its 50 out and i put that turnout on and with the wraparound because the general public doesnt know, but you get a wrap around the sleeve and you are taped with tape. Its very thick. Very tight. Because they dont want any flames to get up there. Actually, i thought immediately i could take this to my cleaners and have her cut that off. I thought, oooh, id probably get in trouble. But thats part of the keeping you from making you get hot. And when i buttoned it up and went to the first couple of fires, i was soaking wet and its like maybe 55 out and 55 late at night and i i just feel for firefighters all over the country that have these very, very warm, especially if theyre like me where i like cool weather, and typical san franciscan and i think maybe it is something about me, but so i really admire firefighters that have to wear it. When i go to a fire now, i just wear my i stay away. I dont go across the street. I stay a distance so i dont have to wear my turnout. There is a fortune to be made if someone can invent the lightweight. Like we talked about the wildland fires, how theres no complaints, even though it might be hot because its generally hot. They have the very light fabric turnout that they wear thats i dont know if you would even consider it a turnout from an urban Fire Department. But when you get out of town, you can wear those and that is one advantage they have is they dont have to have that turnout. I just brought that up that were not the only ones that program and i was watching and talking about how the same thing i just said that there is something to be if somebody could invent something, that eventually could keep you cool and protect you from the fire, its a moneymaker. So, im sure theyre doing everything they can to make money. Its not about protecting anybody. If we want to make money, well do it. Thank you. And sorry to keep that going. Thank you very much, commissioner hardeman and chief, and captain, lieutenant. Madame secretary . Item five, overview of Fire Department budget. Update and overview from director mark corso on the public budget. That is for after your presentation. Good morning. Thank you, commissioners, chief. Im here to give a brief overview of the departments proposed budget. The mayor proposed for budget back on may 31 and i know you all have been involved with many of the various meetings that weve had with supervisors and other city officials. So, thank you again for your efforts. Some of this may be hold to you, but i just wanted to give a brief overview and answer any questions and set out a timeline going forward. So heres a brief overview kind of by fund for our breakdown of our budget. You can see generally general Fund Operations is our main funding allocation that contains daytoday operations of the Fire Department and administratively and operationally. We have some annual projects and continuing projects. Those are mainly for special Capital Projects or other i. T. , things like that. Our Work Order Fund is for services we provide to other departments and currently our biggest ticket item in here is the work order for the port and Services Provided to them. We have the Capital Planning fund which deals with planning for the upcoming geo bond. That is a special city allocation and then we have our overall allocation to the airport. In total, our proposed budget sits at 424 million in the next upcoming year. That is an increase for the coming year for a variety of factors and i can answer any questions to that extent. This is justs a brief overview by type of expenditure for the department. As we talked about a number of times the majority of our funding goes to salary and Fringe Benefits for department members, leaving the remainder for things such as equipment, supplies, and other services. We have a lot of the work orders with other departments and that is mainly through big ticket items there are work orders with central shops that the chief touched on a little bit with our work with central shops as well as the Workers Compensation fun. Just a brief review of our submittal. Back in february, the Commission Approved the departments submittal to the Mayors Office. There was a joint letter with the department and the commission advocating for departmental needs. Laborer. So 798 and the Budget Committee at the time looked at three main priorities which was e. M. S. , Incident Support specialist and equipment and then when chief Nick Nicholson came on board, she had items she wanted to stress to the Mayors Office so they have been the discussion for the past month leading up to the budget submittal to the Mayors Office. So as a kind of highlevel overview of what we were actually allocated, the first part is hiring. It is a continuation of the mayors Public Safety hiring plan. Were looking at 1h2 Firefighter Academy in each of the two years and in addition we have one e. M. T. S Paramedic Academy incorporated in both of the those years to sustain what our Staffing Levels are as well as replace Staff Members transitioning over to that h2 academy so our hiring has leveled out to one academy per year as weve stabilize staffing after years of just ramping up to catch up quite a bit. Thats something obviously were always reviewing with the Mayors Office both on the suppression and e. M. S. Side and those discussions will continue. Right now were looking at weve been allocated to maintain Staffing Levels. On the e. M. S. Side, there were significant investments in ems6. We were allocated five additional ems6f. T. E. S to sub mrement operational staffing that we currently have. We have one Program Administrator and one 12hour shift per day dedicated to ems6. So, these five additional personnel will dramatically increase the amount of operational coverage that we have related to ems6. Ems6 has been discussed quite a bit at the commission. It has been a very Successful Program for the department. The issue mainly has been bhanlds has been bandwidth with the members that we have. Were hoping to expand the program and reach a whole more of the population that is in need of our services. So, in additions to the five f. T. E. S, weve also been allocated funding for ems6 training. There are certain requirements as far as what training the members participating in it need to have. And so thats both for fulltime staff allocated as well as the pool of individuals that are working in those positions on asneeded basis. So the fourweek training, we were allocated funding to run some additional personnel through that. And weve also been allocated an upgrade of the ems6 manager position, just continued mainly due to the increased scope of work from collaboration with other departments, working with the state, large policy implications and decisions being made. So that position has been upgraded due to the change in scope. The next area id like to highlight is fire prevention. Weve been allocated three Additional Inspector positions to deal with the increased workloads and it has been yearoveryear increase for the bureau. Its not just regular permitting and plan review, but there has been a number of executive directives and legislation that have gone through the board and from city hall, pertaining to a. D. U. S and affordable housing. A number of efforts where weve been asked to increase our scope and have an increased workload for the bureau. So, the chief has done a great job kind of collaborating and organizing those efforts. And part of that is kind of a reorganization in the bureau and improve the span of control and efficiency for signoff and the work flow of various projects. So, weve been in addition to the three new inspectors, weve been allocated funding for three substitutions to assistant fire marshal from other officer positionsen that will allow for a kind of strategic reorganization of the bureau and that will streamline all these efforts that the chief is running. So those are all both the new positions and the substitutions are recovered through fee revenues. So, not really an impact to the general fund. Just mainly due to the increased workloads that we would have. Also on the radar, over the next year and definitely over the next two years, is the transition to the onestopper mitt center. 49 south van ness for the city. They are looking at number of departments collaboration to have a onestopper mitt sfrr for permit center for the city, as well as plan review and operational permits. Were working closely with the City Administrators Office and City Partners on that transition over the next year or so. The next allocation that i wanted to highlight was the inclusion of assistant deputy chief to serve as the health and safety chief of the department. This is a very important position that would manage the departments Cancer Prevention recovery units and serve as our oshea liaison and policy development and oversight of Physicians Office and oversight of our workers comp carveout. The longterm goal would be to overall obviously improve health and safety of our members. There is a number of efforts that are under way. Chief rivera mentioned a few with regards to kind of environmentally and health and safety of our members. So, i two ub a departmental coordinator would work in tandem with the current resources we have. Other city departments and outside resources as well to overall improve health and safety of our members. Were looking at a significant increase in our Workers Compensation allocation and that is due to a number of incidents related to cancer and improve behaviours and Resources Available to members to make use of and make it an easy way for them to access those resources. Equipment is one of the other priorities for the departments. This twoyear budgets a continuation of the mayors fleet and equipment plan from a few years ago. We were allocated 9 million over the last two years specific to equipment and the equipment plan. That is about 6 million in the first year and 3. 3 million in the second year. And that is mainly for the purchase of engines, trucks and other needed equipment to replace currently what we have in our fleet. Weve made significant improvements in our the health of our overall fleet. We have a number of vehicles on order currently from previous allocations. But there is still quiek of work to do and so in order to replace that we need to continue the efforts of the equipment plan and thats whats been allocated in the budget so far. We have a number of allocations as far as vehicles, ambulance, defibrillator by e. M. S. And those are an annual allocation as well. Chief rivera mentioned the host tenders and previously the allocation of four in our budget currently and those would be a great improvement to the current water supply system as well as help tremendously the department operationally. Heres a detailed look at our equipment showing the allocation by type and by unit for obviously fire engines, ladder trucks, etc. The total allocation including tenders and revenuefunded equipment is about 11. 5 million in the first years and close to 5 in the second. Weve been allocated one Senior Administrative analysts to assist with e. M. S. Billing and we talked a bit about e. M. S. Billing. There is a number of things were doing currently to extract the most revenue we can out of the current programs. Just in the normal cycle of billing. But there is also a number of initiatives at the state and federal levels that are coming online to kind of open up additional avenues of reimbursement without any change operationally. Theres some legislation passed at the state to enhance the amount of revenue that jurisdictions can receive for both medicare and medical accounts so we feel they would more than pay for themselves with it being cost reporting or other research into those avenues. There is definitely new Revenue Streams for the department that this position would be assigned to. In addition, we have been allocated executive secretary position to assist with the increased administrative deened mas in the department and that is pretty much been all over, whether its increased demands for e. M. S. Or for housing and other special projects. We have a lot of operational people doing administrative tasks, which is not the best use of their time and resources. So, in a matter of efficiency, we have been allocated an additional administrative position to assist with those efforts. In addition, there were a few physician reclassifications during the in the budget just to realign with actual scopes of work. There a few outside of the operational daytoday operations. There are a number of projects. This table highlights the kind of difference types. We have our Capital Projects for storage tank and general facility maintenance. We have a number of allocation of projects for bondrelated projects, both for ff e and projects for those coming online, specifically the new ambulance deployment facility and fire station 35. And in addition, we were allocated funding out of the citys capital fund to pay for some planning related to the new easter bond. We have an allocation of 200,000 for digitizization project. Well be work on that in the coming year. And in addition, weve kind of broken off a couple of more technical projects. One was a city college m. O. U. That came before the commission a couple of months ago. Were setting up a special promise for that, revenue expense as well as for mutual aid to separate it out of our regular operating budget. Just as timelines for the remainder of the budget process. So, may 31 as i mentioned, mayor breed released her budget, presented it to the board of supervisors. We have our first hearing at budget and finance where chief nicholson will give a budget presentation tomorrow at the board of supervisors, budgets and finance committee. Along with a number of other city departments. We also have a second hearing scheduled for the 20th and that will be more of a followup discussion with the budget analyst in that regard. June 21 has been set as the day for Public Comment on the budget. So, during the departmental presentations there is not an opportunity for Public Comment and has been done in previous years lumped into one day. So it is one day of Public Comment and that is on the 21st. After that process, the budget and finance committee of the board will finalize their recommendations and deliberations on their side the week of the 24th. And that will eventually roll into a final budget thats approved at the budgets and finance committee and moves forward to the full board. So, that currently the first vote on the final budget is scheduled for july 23rd with a second vote that is required the following week and after that it would be over to the mayor for approval. So, with that, id be happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much, director. Commissioners . Commissioner cleveland . Thank you. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you for your report. Im always impressed by the numbers you put together and how you present them and were fortunate in our department to have you as our c. F. O. Thank you. Thank you for the information. Pretty remarkable when you look at the budget of the Fire Department and proposed budget. When 371 million goes to salary and benefits we really only have 353 million a year that we can work with to make improvements if you will. Its a task. I had a couple of requests on fire prevention. I know that were going to add some inspectors, three inspectors to the department and that is very important. And perhaps our fire marshal can tell us exactly what kind of fee increases the public can expect to pay for these improve. Improvements in service. So i know that you have to it is a Cost Recovery effort. So whats that going to translate into, increase in fees. Absolutely. I can answer that question. The department is proposing a very small fee increase of about 4 . Its mainly for cost of living. And various increases over the past couple of years. We did not increase fees last year. But in both of the years, last year and the proposal for next year, theres been increases in salary and wages increase. So, we kept our fee increases very small. Mainly the increase in revenue is due to more volume and more activity. So, were ensuring that we cover our costs but also are cogny cognizant of the fee situation. Im impressed. That will go into effect when . After the budget approval. It usually comes late august when it goes into effect. Late august. Good job, fire marshal. On the health and safety issues, the assistant deputy chief position will be created, which we definitely need. I have a question. Is that position going to have oversight over the departments doctor . Because right now the commissioner receives that position and we dont i dont think we do a very good job in terms of daytoday oversight of our physicians. We just dont. Would this person have that more daytoday oversight . Yes. That is our intention. Oversight of that, of our workers comp carveout, of any Behavioral Health initiatives, peer support unit. So yes. I think thats a good very good. And i appreciate that. Let me see if i have any other things here. I also appreciate the fact that you have put in one Senior Administrative position to ramp up our e. M. S. Billing practices of i know there is a great deal of money that we cannot collect on our 911 calls and if we can find a way to increases that Cost Recovery, it will always it will be to our benefit. So im glad that thats been added and that the mayors budgets preliminary budget has agreed to include that. Yes. s always been a bone of contention for many of us commissioners to see how much money goes out the door on 911 calls that we cant collect back. So absolutely. Some of that we wont be able to regardless due to regulations but there are a number of programs we can take advantage of for additional Revenue Streams. In summary, thank you for your report. Thank you. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you. Commissioner hareman . Thank you, president. As usual, very concise and wellwritten report. Thank you. Thank you. We have a meeting scheduled for supervisors, each commissioner has been assigned to meet with two supervisors. I havent had a formal meeting with supervisor peskin and supervisor asafai, but i have had numerous discussions with them and i think theyre favor tonight the Fire Departments, without specifically picking anything out they didnt like. So, hopefully its going well because there is no things that have reached them that they seem to have a problem with at this time. So, that is good. But very nice report and all the new staffing to keep up with the responsibilities that the Fire Department has is increased population and number of people and as we talked as i mentioned the last meeting, 17 increase. That was in a couple of years and the homeless population, as its called, i like to refer to them as street people, but nevertheless, how many of them are counted. And in the formula they used to say most [inaudible] san franciscans, but sometimes thats rfring to someone whos lived here for two yearses. But that is not my prerogative. I just read the reports. But i saw since the last meeting where it went up 40 in that same amount of time that we went up 17 . So theyre really taking a hit. So, all the resources have to increase, all the dollars deal with that. And your budget does a very good job in helping deal with that. So, good job. Thank you. Thank you very much, commissioner hardeman. That the particular point, chief nicholson, you wanted to make any comment at this point . Vice president covington, thank you. Director corso, thank you very much for this comprehensive update. Just so im clear, were talking about the mayors proposed budget information. So all of these positions are approved, just for clarity, by the Mayors Office, Budget Office. Yes, sir. With this plan, were going into the process of the board of supervisor process, the Budget Committee has well as the general overall board. Correct. So, weve been having our back and forth with the budget analyst. We started that. We havent received any recommendations or anything like that yet. As i mentioned t chief has the presentation at the hearing tomorrow. And that will continue over the next couple of weeks. All right. Just so that i know that, again, because this is a process of steps approved by the mayors Budget Office as we go forward. I know that this input in terms of the different departments of [inaudible] came from the various course of your budget meetings and discussions from the various chiefs in terms of their needs. In terms of e. M. S. , it says funding of the ems6 four weeks, talk about and increase of six active members in terms of ems6. Five active members, yes. [please stand by] [please stand by] chief nicholson so its a position we had that was unfunded that were bumping up, and that will report to deputy chief of administration. President nakajo i know that commissioner hardeman made some reference to the commission. Im going to need some coordination and clarity to that because i understand that according to the charter we are in charge of that position. So if thats the case, direct supervision and such with this additional position, i think there just needs to be a real clear line of coordination and communication as to how thats going to specifically work as infrastructure position on the division. Chief nicholson yeah. What i can say is the Physicians Office on daytoday matters works with the administration. President nakajo okay. I think thats important to hear. Thank you, director corso. Did i take Public Comment on this, madam secretary . Clerk not yet. President nakajo any Public Comment on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Madam secretary . Clerk item 6, report of chief of department. Report by chief Jeanine Nicholson including budget, academies, communications, and outreach to other Government Agencies in the public and report from deputy chief Victor Wyrsch including updates on greater alarm fires, Bureau Fire Prevention and investigation, and airport division. President nakajo thank you, madam secretary. As in tradition, chief nicholson, well ask for you to go through your report first, and ask questions, and then well go to deputy wyrsch for his report. I appreciate theres an update to the Drone Program that commissioner veronese asked for, so i appreciate that being part of your report. Chief nicholson thank you, president nakajo, commissioners, maureen. So the command staff and i, as i told you the at at the Previous Commission meeting, deputy chief velo and myself and deputy chief wyrsch have been visiting the fire stations as well as having a town hall at station 49. Were continuing to do that, and were getting good feedback, Good Communications with everyone, and as they say, sometimes the best ideas happen over a cup of coffee and were really getting some good ideas and some good conversations have begun. So were getting some really good ideas from the stations and once we get that, well setup a plan for command staff to go to all of the stations. Members have until june 17 to apply for the committee and work groups that we are going to be reorganizing and reestablishing. Weve had several committees and work groups over the years, and not all of them have been active. And what we would like to see basically, theres too much work for the command staff to handle, and we also know that members in the field have a lot of intel. They are the subject matter experts, so when it comes to revising our manuals, coming up with new equipment ideas, all sorts of things, were going to have committees really were going to have some starts and parameters and requirements in place for those committees so they can do some of the work that we need. Talk about the heat wave. It had some impacts on us operationally, as well as e. M. S. On the suppression side, and we are continuing to make the make the story known to different supervisors, and i will, as well, at the meeting tomorrow in front of the board of supervisors Budget Committee just in terms of whats going on in e. M. S. And has been going on in e. M. S. For a while. So our time on task is up 27 since 2014. So what does that mean . That means that the people in our members in the ambulances are spending 27 more time on their work at hand, and theres all sorts of reasons for that, right . Traffic increased traffic within the city, more documentation requirements, and, really, the hospitals are overwhelmed. Their triage systems are back ups, and so were upstaffing the hospitals by waiting in triage lines for extended periods of time. So we are looking to work collaboratively with the hospital council, department of Public Health, and others on this to come up with solutions, and were bringing the story i will be bringing the story to the Budget Committee tomorrow. And as you know, our call volume is up since 2014, as well. 13 overall, but 24 for our e. M. S. Units. So were monitoring and tracking all of that and making the appropriate asks. Because as you know, we all run e. M. S. Calls, both suppress and parts of the department. We are running calls 24 hours a day, and our full costs go up fuel costs go up, doors, etc. , etc. It has an impact all over the department. Speaking of d. P. H. , were meeting today with d. P. H. , department of Public Health director, dr. Colfax today, to talk about all sorts of thing, e. M. S. Requirements, department response, to foster a working collaboration with them. You may have heard of opportunities for all. It has come out of the Mayors Office of economic and workforce development, and we are looking to hire four young people through that program this summer, one for nert and three at e. M. S. , so well let you know when those young folks are on board. Give young people an opportunity to see what things are like and how things work. We are continuing to work with the chase center. We are also in conversations with the m. T. A. And others on our access not just to the chase center but surrounding areas during event. Its challenging. Theres limited access in terms of infrastructure and streets, and we are making our voice heard, and we want to ensure that we have the proper access to the chase center and to the surrounding neighbors when there are events there. And also, pg e, we we wereg with the department of Emergency Management and others throughout the city. We need more information from pg e about the rolling electric shutdowns that theyll be doing on us. Assistant deputy chief cochran has been hard at work on this issue, and there is a giant tabletop tomorrow, largescale drill tomorrow with different city agencies and pg e run by the department of Emergency Management that well be taking part in. As you know, its budget, budget, budget, so thats been a lot of what ive been working on, and with your assistance, as well, commissioners, meeting with different supervisors on the budget to make sure that our voice is heard and our story is told. And ill be presenting tomorrow. And then, this friday, we have the mayors the womens summit is happening this friday. However, ill be going to our very own 125th class graduation is that morning at 9 00 a. M. At the Scottish Rites Center at 19th and sloat. Hope to see you all there, and then, after that, ill be going to the mayors womens summit. And then, after that, youre invited to the juneteenth celebration. We are meeting at 10 45 a. M. At 762 fulton street, and well be marching at 11 00. And then, just lastly, we are in the process of making our h2 and h3 level one selections, and i wish we could make everyone happy with that, but its a very competitive process, and we have really just so many good names, so we will be conducting some conversations with those with those possible recruits in the near future, and that concludes my report for right now. President nakajo thank you very much, chief nicholson. At this point, i will ask for Public Comment on the chiefs report, item 6. Seeing none from the public, Public Comment is closed. Commissioners, commissioner cleaveland . Commissioner cleaveland thank you, mr. President , and thank you, chief nicholson, for your report. A number of questions, starting with all your visits and the meeting that you conducted at station 59. With the questions from the rankandfile, what kinds of questions did they provide you that will help you as our new chief . Chief nicholson so thank you for that question, and we initially, i was getting more sort of a dumbfounded look, like wow . You guys are coming to talk to us. And so ive gotten and i know deputy chief wyrsch and velo have gotten really good feedback. They are really happy that were opening the lines of communication and having conversations and that were willing to listen and that you know, and that they want to hear what it is about what were doing. And then, there are, you know, some things that come up that that we can address easily. And you know, a lot of as as you may well know, problems get started or happen because of either no communication or miscommunication, and so but a couple of the sort of small things that have come out of it that i think can really help us is were going to look at having our fire inspectors our district inspectors meet regularly with our batallion chiefs so they each know what the other is doing, what the concerns are, what theyre working on. So opening up that line of communication is really helpful. Also, just getting communication out to the field about how we choose to what order we go in in terms of replacing rigs because there are all sorts of theories out there. But assistant deputy chief rivera has a very factual plan laid out in terms of these are the number of miles, these are the number of hours, these are the repair costs, so were going to get that kind of information out to the field, so its been really positive from our vantage point. Commissioner cleaveland i thank you for getting that feedback and continue that go on an ongoing basis will be really value. When you talk about forming work groups, will the information that comes out of those work groups be funneled into our supplement, our Strategic Plan . So yes. A lot of what they will be working on is will be directives from that Strategic Plan, absolutely. Commissioner cleaveland response times are up 27 since 2014, and the reasons are increased traffic and back ups at the hospitals. What does that mean in terms of number of minutes . When you say time on task for an e. M. S. Or 911 call, what does that mean in terms of minutes . I can look it up for you and get it to you. Commissioner cleaveland but 27 would be, to you, can you estimate five minutes . Ten minutes . Chief nicholson no, i would estimate more than that. Commissioner cleaveland just interested in what it means more in realtime. Chief nicholson and what that means is were doing over a quarter more time on each call that we are working on, and so the turnover of available ambulances is an issue, and we just dont want to get back to where we were five years ago. Commissioner cleaveland i agree. I agree. Just to reiterate, 70 of our emergency calls are medical emergency. Chief nicholson yeah, i believe. Clae commissioner cleaveland of those, roughly 35 have unidentifiable addresses. Chief nicholson mmhmm. Commissioner cleaveland thats something i think the public needs to know. The chase center, when the chase center is operating, how many ambulances will we have stationed nearby to deal with any sort of emergencies . Chief nicholson so we dont have any ambulances dedicated to the chase center . And as you know, our ambulances are dynamically deployed throughout the city, and it depends on our Staffing Levels and how many ambulances are at the hospitals and how many ambulances are on call. But we will need to get in and around that area. Commissioner cleaveland okay. And on the budget, i just want to congratulate you. Ive been to several budget meetings with the supervisors with the new chief, and shes very eloquent when it comes to defending our budget increase request and when it comes to explaining explaining our budget to the supervisors and where our priorities are, so i just want to congratulate you into your initial foray into the budget and for defending our increases as eloquently as you do. Chief nicholson yes. As i like to say, show me the money. If you will allow me, i neglected to speak about the drone, so if you would allow me to do so. President nakajo proceed, chief. Chief nicholson so we are waiting on fema to approve this drone for us, but im going to ask if assistant deputy chief cochran can come up and give you a quick update on the Drone Program. President nakajo thank you, chief. Deputy chief cochran. Assistant deputy chief mike cochran. So in order to make the purchase, an approved aviation request form is required from caloes. The request was submitted on april 5 for caloes to review. A follow up was made on may 3 with no response. An additional follow up was made on may 26 with no response. At that time, i emailed them directly, and received the following answer. Hi, michael. We have not heard back from fema yet, and ill keep mary posted. So were awaiting fema. Thats what they said. President nakajo all right. Thank you, deputy chief cochran, chief nicholson. Any additional questions . Vice president covington . Commissioner covington thank you, mr. President. Just to piggyback on the discussion with the drone. You know, with all of the inclement weather and the floods and all of that, fema is pressed to the wall right now, so i think when things settle down a little bit, they will be more responsive, but you know, the tornados, 12 in a row in one state just day after day after day, and about a couple of Million People have been impacted, so i can understand, theyve probably cleared everybody connected with fema out of the west and put them in the midwest and the south. So i think we we have no choice but to be patient, and i appreciate chief cochran staying on top of it so when people do return to their desk, hopefully, we can get this done fairly quickly. Yes, maam. As you said, its an outside agency, and unfortunately because its a grant, were going to have to wait. Commissioner covington yes. And a federal agency, they have a wider scope of responsibility, so we just have to be patient. Is there anything in the meantime that we can do . I mean, not on the regulatory side, but training or anything of that nature because i understand right outside of phoenix, they have a i dont know if youve attended that that training, but they have derailed trains and planes and everything. I cant remember the name of the facility, but cbs did a wonderful package what we used to call a wonderful package a segment on that particular location just this past week. I do not, maam, but we really need the drone to train, but my alma mater, which ill say, is going to assist when we get it, so thatll be local, but i do not know that facility. Commissioner covington okay. Very good. Because they showed a drone that was, like, carbon and round and with all the bells and whistles. And im like, i know when chief cochran sees this, hes going to want one. All right. Thank you, chief cochran. Just stay positive its on its way. Yes, maam. Commissioner covington ill also tell commissioner veronese to remain positive when he returns. Thats going to be on his mind. President nakajo all right. Thank you for your questions, Vice President covington. Commissioner hardeman . Commissioner hardeman i dont know if the public realizes how important your position is, but your position is very important to the safety of all san franciscans. You work with every part of city government, everybody in the Fire Department, so you have your hands full all the time. The drone issue, youve been ready to move on that for a long time. You have a lift of that in your background before that came to the Fire Department list of that in your background before that came to the Fire Department, so with your history, id say youre sort of lucky that commissioner veronese isnt here because he wants you to move this along. But we all know you, and you are hamstrung, just like commissioner covington just said. But the next big event would probably be the pride parade . Thats what, the 28th or something . That will keep you busy, im sure. Yes, thats the 30th. Commissioner hardeman the 30th . Okay. Our new assistant chief, sandy tong is working with me on that. There will be a large amount of resources, large amount of people. All the agencies are preparing, yes, sir. Commissioner hardeman i might be marching in that. Its been a few years, but i might be marching, so thank you. And that was it for me. Should i ask chief wyrsch, do you want to president nakajo yes, thank you very much, commissioner hardeman commissioner hardeman oh, i just wanted to ask chief nicholson some questions. The oracle park, at t, the former giants ballpark, is it a. M. R. Or american, do they have a contract with the giants for those ambulances they have out there right off of chief nicholson king, king american. Commissioner hardeman oh, king american, because i also talked to those fellows that are Walking Around the stadium, the ballpark. So thats a deal with the giants themselves, so chase, im assuming, because just not to answer a question i dont know the answer to, but i assume chase is going to have a similar thing where they hire king or american or whoever a. M. R. Or whoever so that was anticipated . Okay. That was the answer to the question. Those fellows are very interesting, talkative, informative. Also, i think theres three or four dogs going around every game, that the giants hire. Nothing to do with us, but they do that every game. Thank you, president nakajo. President nakajo thank you, commissioner hardeman. I did not allow commissioner covington to finish her questions, so were going to return to Vice President covington to allow her to finish her questions. Vice president covington, my apologies. Commissioner covington no problem. Chief, can you tell me what the top three items are regarding the budget, what your top three asks are right now . Chief nicholson are you talking top three in terms of dollar value . Commissioner covington in terms of importance to the department. What is it that we absolutely cannot do without that we may need to push a little more on . cause ive met with you and other senior staff and two of the supervisors who are very, very confident that they would be able to answer if people had questions. I think its important for the public to know if theres a priority, what the top three things would be. Chief nicholson so everything i asked forn
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