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INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE COSUMNES COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT (COSUMNES CSD) FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING AUTOMATIC/MUTUAL AID WITH THE CITY OF STOCKTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve and adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Stockton and the Cosumnes Community Services District (Cosumnes CSD) Fire Department for the provision of Automatic/Mutual Aid with the City of Stockton Fire Department. In addition, it is recommended that the City Manager be further authorized to take appropriate actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this resolution.
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Summary
The City of Stockton (COS) and the Cosumnes CSD Fire Department have the necessary equipment and personnel available for providing mutual assistance to each other in the cases of major fire, disaster, technical rescue and other emergencies.
The recommended Automatic/Mutual Aid Agreement describes the requirements from each agency for providing Automatic and Mutual Aid emergency responses during major incidents that require multiple agencies to provide services and provide coverage for communities. This is a no cost recovery agreement that is common for fire departments in California.
DISCUSSION
Background
The Cosumnes CSD Fire Department is in the southern portion of Sacramento County and along the San Joaquin County line. The Cosumnes CSD Fire Department has Automatic and Mutual Aid with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Authority, and surrounding fire departments, including the City of Lodi, north of Stockton. The City of Stockton (COS) Fire Department has been tasked to engage in a regionalized response network that provides shared emergency resources during emergent events and disasters.
Present Situation
The COS Fire Chief and the Cosumnes CSD Fire Department Fire Chief have discussed the Automatic and Mutual Aid Agreement for a number of months. The value for the City of Stockton in entering into such an agreement with Cosumnes CSD Fire Department is the vast amount of resources that can quickly be mobilized from Sacramento County into our community through the Fire Department dispatching network. This quick access to resources reduces the amount of valuable time that would be currently spent working under the county to county response network. Essentially, this Automatic and Mutual Aid Agreement eliminates a layer of time and approvals, providing critical resources in a timely and efficient process.
The term of the agreement is five years. In similar agreements across the region, the term is between three to five years with renewals unless otherwise terminated.
Summary
· The Cosumnes CSD Fire Department and Stockton Fire Departments seek to enter into an Automatic/Mutual Aid Agreement.
· The Agreement provides for enhanced regionalization of fire services that enhance resources and reduce time for response.
· Both the City of Stockton and Cosumnes CSD Fire Department will bear the cost for such responses unless there is a qualified disaster response.
· The City of Stockton is fully capable of providing such services with minimal impact to City services.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Each party agrees that it will not seek from the other party compensation for services rendered under this Agreement; the mutual advantages and protection afforded by this Agreement being considered adequate compensation to each of the parties. Each party agrees to be responsible to its own employees for the payment of wages and other compensation and for carrying worker's compensation insurance upon said employees. Each party shall be responsible for its own equipment and shall bear the risk of loss therefore, irrespective of whether or not said personnel and equipment are being used within the area of primary responsibility of that party.
The cost of providing fire suppression and emergency services is a major component of the Stockton Fire Department's annual operating budget. In the event services are needed, funds are available in Firefighting/EMS Account # 010-2620-530 for providing resources to Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department under this Agreement.