Looking to meet minimum staffing requirements and reduce overtime costs, the Hollister City Council approved a rank reassignment for three fire captains and three fire engineers in the Hollister Fire Department. The department’s overtime costs are currently $1.3 million. The vote was approved 3-2, with Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and Councilman Rolan Resendiz opposed.
According to the March 18 agenda packet, each engine company is required to operate with, at a minimum, one fire captain, one fire engineer and one firefighter. With four fire stations in San Benito County (three in the Hollister area and one in San Juan Bautista), the fire department has nine fire captains, nine fire engineers and 21 firefighters instead of the state required minimum of 12 in each rank.
Fire Chief Bob Martin Del Campo said in order to deal with rank shortages in shifts (257 since July 1) the positions were filled with overtime and out-of-class assignments.
However, there is a limit of 960 hours per year that those positions can be filled by out of class appointments, according to the agenda packet. Those appointments also cut into the fire department’s salary budget, as the employees receive a 5 percent increase for greater responsibility performance.
Del Campo told the council that re-ranking from within will cost $105,000, but it ends up saving about $690,000 in overtime from the $1.6 million estimated for fiscal year 2018-19. According to the agenda packet and at the time it was printed, the department’s overtime costs were $1.3 million.
Mayor Velazquez, who has been vocal about the Hollister Fire Department’s past overtime spending, said the city needs to find a way for San Juan Bautista and the county to pay their fair share of costs.
“I remember the day we were having heated discussions about being $300,000 in overtime,” Velazquez said. “Now we are looking at $1.6 million in overtime providing exactly the same service.”
In response to a question by Resendiz, Del Campo said the department’s staff numbers are based on the the population of the county: one firefighter per every 1,000 residents. Resendiz said although the department is looking to decrease overtime costs now, he is still concerned that the city will have the same problem as the community grows.
“How can we go about doing this in a better manner?” Resendiz asked.
Del Campo said other municipalities use “trigger points,” whereby once they build about 500 new homes, they hire an additional firefighter.
Police Chief David Westrick said the time to discuss trigger points is about six months from now when the council takes on the city’s Master Plan, which encompasses public safety.
As discussion moved to Hollister’s fire contracts with San Benito County and San Juan Bautista (which was on the agenda and approved later in the meeting), Councilwoman Carol Lenoir pointed out the action was about having the required minimum staffing.
“We’re supposed to be meeting the law here,” Lenoir said. “The minimum requirement of each shift should have the right personnel on it. That’s what we’re talking about tonight. So if you don’t want to be sued, I would try to meet the minimum requirements as stated by the law.”
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