Benicia Council to weigh response

The Solano County Grand Jury has recommended county and municipal fire agencies consider greater consolidation, particularly in purchases and dispatching.

Benicia City Council will consider Tuesday how to respond to the grand jury’s report.

City Manager Brad Kilger has composed a letter that agrees with some of the report’s recommendations, but that also includes concerns the city has about consolidation.

The report, released earlier this year, was written after the grand jury examined the history of consolidating individual departments and whether this would be a good direction for Solano County fire responders to take, Fire Chief Jim Lydon wrote in a report to Kilger.

The grand jury noted that even when municipalities are being pressured to reduce costs while improving services, fire agencies’ consolidation “on a countywide level is an elusive goal.”

However, as a national plan to unify communications for emergency responders is being put in place, such consolidation “may be evolving,” the grand jury report said.

In addition, the various fire departments might be able to save money through consolidating their purchases, the grand jury asserted.

“Solano County has been considering consolidating fire agency resources for over 30 years,” the grand jury report said.

“Opportunities for consolidation have worked well in areas where small communities have joined as a necessity because of limited tax base,” it continued. “Mergers have also been accomplished in large metropolitan areas where city borders are distinguishable only by lawns drawn on a map and each have had fire departments with similar functions and responsibilities.”

What has prevented consolidation in Solano County is the way municipalities independently developed, the grand jury report said.

For instance, Benicia was a regional powerhouse in the mid-19th century, particularly when it was California’s capital. Vallejo grew in strength during World War II because of its naval yard, whereas Fairfield became more important with the development of Travis Air Force Base.

Vacaville and Dixon became known for agriculture, while Rio Vista and Suisun City favored residential rather than commercial development, the report noted.

In addition, some cities don’t want to relinquish local control. In those cities, officials say some employees would get raises and others would get pay cuts under consolidation; some police departments have pointed out the change would affect their revenue and reduce their personnel.

But talk of consolidation, especially from the Solano Fire Chiefs Association, became part of the discussion of moving the Solano County Sheriff’s Office communication and dispatch center and the Office of Emergency Services to Claybank Road at Airbase Parkway in Fairfield.

One benefit would be reduction of redundancy, such as the separate but nearby dispatch centers of Fairfield police, Suisun City police and Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the grand jury decided. While Vacaville has its own law enforcement and fire dispatch center, Dixon and Rio Vista count on the sheriff’s office for dispatching.

Alameda, Sacramento, Marin, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties already have consolidated fire services, the grand jury noted, and fire dispatching is consolidated in Monterey, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Stanislaus and Yolo counties.

Area fire and police departments already cooperate through mutual aid agreements, and the grand jury report said communication in particular is critical, particularly when multiple agencies respond to an incident.

Five different districts are responsible for the county’s unincorporated areas, and seven handle municipal emergencies. Travis Air Force Base has a military fire unit, and Cal Fire is responsible for range and wildland fires. In addition, California Medical Facility, Solano has a fire unit.

However, not all units share a common radio frequency, the grand jury said, and sometimes communication has been difficult.

That was one of the problems that cropped up during rescue efforts when the World Trade Center was destroyed Sept. 11, 2001, the report noted, as well as during the Oakland Hills fires of 1991 and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Despite communication equipment innovation, Solano County’s agencies haven’t made many strides in coordinating their communications, the grand jury report said. Some systems won’t work with other systems, it noted.

The panel has recommended Solano County Board of Supervisors start taking steps toward consolidation.

It recommended municipalities and other fire districts in the county start collaborating on equipment acquisition, and that fire communications should be consolidated to enhance public safety.

Benicia wasn’t expected to address the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, but needs to respond to the other recommendations, Lydon wrote.

Kilger’s response, which would be sent to Judge E. Bradley Nelson upon Council approval, does address the other recommendations.

The city manager wrote that Benicia agrees there is improved efficiency and money savings value in “shared consolidation” as described in the report, particularly if a lead agency with enough money could be found to pursue such opportunities.

Kilger wrote that Benicia also recognizes the potential for increasing efficiency through consolidated communications, especially standardized systems. The city would be interested in pursuing such solutions, he wrote, so long as the level of service didn’t decline.

“We are concerned that a potential reduction in services may occur with the consolidation of dispatch with respect to duties that are currently provided by our dispatchers at the police deparment,” he wrote.

“The consolidation may result in the need for additional staff to address those duties currently performed by the dispatchers, resulting in a potential increased cost of operations for the city.”

Benicia City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in a closed session to discuss legal matters. The regular meeting starts at 7 Tuesday night in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.