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Home My WebLink AboutSOBC Request Form - CDD 4006 Building and Safety Standby PaySIGNIFICANT OPERATING BUDGET CHANGE DEPARTMENT NAME: Community Development COST CENTER- PROGRAM: 4006 Building & Safety TITLE (Short Name): Building and Safety Standby / Overtime Pay Page 1 of 4 SUMMARY OF CHANGE Provide an explanation of the problem or need that the SOBC will address. Describe the resources being requested and how they would solve the problem or satisfy the need you’ve described. Identify the funding sources for this request and indicate if you have submitted this SOBC in prior years. If so, when? Building and Safety Standby/Overtime Pay The Community Development Department is seeking to provide standby/overtime pay for certain building and safety staff (inspectors) in order to meet the expectations of the community and ensure community safety. This will guarantee that a member of the building and safety team will be available and required to assist when emergency events occur during holidays, weekends, and during non-work hours. Examples of this include providing inspection support services when a car hits a building or there is a fire. The Building Division needs to be involved in these circumstances as the technical professionals who are charged with determining whether a building is safe for habitability. Without standby pay, it is not certain whether a building and safety professional will always be available to assist with such assessments during off -hours, which forces emergency responders to make decisions regarding a building’s habitability and structural integrity. SERVICE LEVEL IMPACT This ongoing funding is needed to ensure that Police and Fire Dispatch can contact a building inspector in an emergency. Police and Fire personnel often need this assistance, and the City’s dispatch team is required to make several attempts to contact off-duty staff. A Notification of Structure Fire Procedures has been drafted. (Attachment A) BACKGROUND & SUPPORTING EVIDENCE In the early hours of Sunday, January 28th, 2024, a structure fire occurred at 1250 Peach Street. Emergency responders ordered the electrical service of the entire 12 suite building/complex to be shut down while only 3 units were impacted. Fire Department personnel did not attempt to contact the Building and Safety Division to help assess the situation and waited until the following Monday to notify the Chief Building Official. The impacted businesses were without power for the next 24 hours, and unable to operate for two business days. As a result of this instance, the Building and Safety Division initiated conversations with leadership personnel from the Police and Fire Department. It was communicated to the Chief Building Official that there have been several instances over the past decade in which Building and Safety Division staff were unavailable upon request for assistance. On several occasions in the past, dispatch called out the City’s standby maintenance personnel from the Public Works department to assess buildings impacted during emergencies. These on-call employees are not qualified to make critical decisions in these circumstances. Currently, dispatch has a list of personnel qualified to respond in these situations. However, there is no guarantee that Building and Safety staff will be available when needed. Furthermore, dispatch does not know who from the list will be available which requires them to make several phone calls in hopes that a member of the Building and Safety Division will answer their phone. Providing standby pay for one FTE will ensure that a qualified member of the Building and Safety Division is assigned to respond and always available. Based on past precedence, it can be assumed that this service will be utilized by emergency personnel at least once monthly. However, as the community continues to grow, it is likely that this frequency will increase. SIGNIFICANT OPERATING BUDGET CHANGE DEPARTMENT NAME: Community Development COST CENTER- PROGRAM: 4006 Building & Safety TITLE (Short Name): Building and Safety Standby / Overtime Pay Page 2 of 4 Key Objectives This SOBC should provide ongoing funding for qualified personnel to receive standby pay. This will ensure a qualified member from the Building and Safety Division is available at the request of first responders to provide consultation regarding structures impacted by a disaster and to make determinations regarding the habitability of those inflicted structures. Major City Goal or Other Important Objective Addressed This funding will provide a much-needed community benefit by providing available technical support to Fire and Police personnel responding to situations such as structure fires, acts of God that impact the built environment, and vehicles that impact buildings. This new program will help residents and business owners regain authorization to occupy their structures that were impacted by a disaster as quickly and safely as possible. Alternatives Considered One alternative is to not allocate standby pay - If no allocation is provided, there may not be responsive Building and Safety staff to assist emergency personnel outside of regular business hours. STAKEHOLDERS If implementation of the requested SOBC involves or impacts stakeholders outside of your department (staff from other departments or external partners), identify their role(s) and advanced coordination that has occurred to ensure participation. Building and Safety Division, Police Department, and Fire Department have all met regarding the need for these additional services. In addition, providing these services during off-hours could positively impact community members by giving them more immediate answers regarding the safety/habitability of buildings after unexpected events. Community members affected by these events are often displaced. Having a member of the Building and Safety Division respond immediately creates a direct line of communication for the victims of a disaster and the city official’s (CDD) who will be charged with helping them get back into their business or home. IMPLEMENTATION Program Manager: Michael Loew Project Team: Deputy Chief Fox Chief Building Official Michael Loew Supervising Building Inspector Trevor Nelson Battalion Chief John MacDonald and Police Lt. Cudworth After receiving a request from the Fire Department for standby services, this team convened to begin developing a policy for when Building and Safety Division personnel should be called upon. The creation of this policy was given a due date by the Chief Building Official of 5/1/2024 . Furthermore, the Chief Building Official is working with the Supervising Building Inspector to develop a policy for who is considered a qualified member of staff to respond to emergencies. This policy will be completed by 6/1/2024 and consider other measures beyond what is listed in SLOCEA’s MOU, such as the amount of time it may take to respond, and the types of certifications needed to be considered qualified. SIGNIFICANT OPERATING BUDGET CHANGE DEPARTMENT NAME: Community Development COST CENTER- PROGRAM: 4006 Building & Safety TITLE (Short Name): Building and Safety Standby / Overtime Pay Page 3 of 4 Finally, the Chief Building Official and Human Resources Department must have a “meet and confer” with SLOCEA prior to implementing this new work assignment. The meet and confer has not yet been schedule d because funding is not currently allocated for these services, but should occur no later than 6/30/2024 Timeline Provide the expected timeline for implementing the request, including major milestones along the way. When will the resources be in place and operational? How long will it take before measurable results will be achieved? As previously stated, if the request is time limited, identify when the resources would no longer be needed. Note that new staffing added for time limited projects should be requested as contract or supplemental. Date (MM/DD/YY) Task 5/1/2024 PD, FD, and B&S joint policy regarding standby services (working draft attached) 6/1/2024 Building and Safety Division standby policy 6/30/2024 Meet and Confer with SLOCEA 7/1/2024 Inspection services available to emergency responders after hours upon request ATTACHMENTS WORKING DRAFT OF UPDATED POLICY SIGNIFICANT OPERATING BUDGET CHANGE DEPARTMENT NAME: Community Development COST CENTER- PROGRAM: 4006 Building & Safety TITLE (Short Name): Building and Safety Standby / Overtime Pay Page 4 of 4 FINANCIAL AND POSITION ALLOCATION DETAIL TOTAL SOBC REQUEST OF $18,720.00 OF GENERAL FUNDS CALCULATION $45.00 X 247 WEEKDAYS = $11,115 $65.00 X 104 WEEKEND DAYS = $6,760 $65.00 X 13 HOLIDAYS = $845 TOTAL STANDBY PAY = $18,720 NON-STAFFING DETAIL Fund Cost Ctr Account Current Budget Requested SOBC Expense Revenue Added Expense* Revenue** Net Cost (Expense- Revenue) One- Time/ Ongoing Description 101 4006 5010 $18,720 Ongoing Standby Pay for Building and Safety TOTAL $18,720 $18,720 * Expense should include all costs associated with the requested SOBC. For example, if the request is to add a position that will need specialized tools or require purchase of an additional vehicle, those costs should be included as part of the SOBC. ** If the department has identified a funding source (grant funding, increased fee revenue, etc.) to offset the cost of the request, please describe and explain the identified funding source(s). How certain and stable is the proposed funding source for this request? What is it driven by or contingent on? If this request will be an on-going program or activity, what does the department expect future year funding streams to look like? Please describe below: