Below is a press release issued yesterday from the office of Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker:
Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III Announces “Fire Protection Oversight Improvement Bills”
County Executive proposes reforming Fire CommissionUpper Marlboro, MD – Today, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III submitted two pieces of legislation to the Prince George’s County Council that will reform the Prince George’s County Fire Commission. These reforms will include requiring that members of the Fire Commission live in the County, as well as ensuring that there is citizen representation.
“Researched and proposed by our transition committee, this legislation aligns with my administration’s agenda of creating responsibility and accountability in all areas of Prince George’s County government,” said Baker. “In addition, these legislative amendments will ensure that public safety expenditures will be dedicated more efficiently to the protection of our citizens as well as all of our first responders.”
This legislative concept originated as a public safety goal for the Fire/EMS Department proposed by the Rushern Baker Transition Committee which specifically recommended that Prince George’s County should consider changing the structure, composition and role of the Fire Commission to include external and internal stakeholders as commission members who should be appointed in a manner that is consistent with other panels/boards that control Prince George’s County funding. To read the Fire/EMS recommendations in the full transition committee report.
One piece of legislation submitted today reflects an existing Executive Order signed by the County Executive that changes the manner of selecting members of the Fire Commission as outlined in the schedule of legislation attached to the Charter.
In addition, a companion piece of legislation makes changes to the County Code regarding the functions and responsibilities of the Fire Commission and further defines its membership.
The current composition and function of the Fire Commission were established in 1970 and represent a vestige of the early formation of the fire service and County Charter. They do not reflect how current modern fire service organizations are organized, nor how County funding distributions are or should be made. The members of the Fire Commission are elected by volunteers in the individual fire stations, and there is no residency requirement for the Commission.
Currently, the County Executive, Fire Chief and Prince George’s County Council do not have a role in the approval or removal of members of the Fire Commission, who have “de facto” authority over $12 million in public County funds.
Prince George’s County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor remarked, "Volunteers have been and will be a valuable part of the Fire/EMS Department. In the past nine months, I have doubled the number of volunteers actively involved in our operational Command and Safety areas. This administrative reorganization brings the Fire/EMS Department structure and administrative functions more in line with modern Fire/EMS Services. I fully support the County Executive’s efforts to improve the efficiency and transparency of our administrative functions."
This legislation would mirror the nomination and confirmation process for boards and commissions as outlined in the Charter. A nomination process would increase the likelihood that the Fire Commission will include more diverse representation, reflective of the communities that the Fire/EMS Department currently serves. Furthermore, Commission members including career and volunteer fire fighters as well as the general public would be nominated by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council. The new Commission would consist of:
• Three members representing the volunteers,
• Three representing the career service,
• And three representing the Prince George’s County citizenry at large.Bob Ross, President of the Prince George's County Branch of the NAACP, stated, "Anytime the community has the opportunity to be a more inclusive part of the government, we all win. I wholeheartedly support this change in the Fire Commission. The Fire/EMS Department is an important part of the Prince George's County Government. Our residents deserve and should expect more opportunities like this, to improve transparency and inclusiveness."
Furthermore, this legislation would re-align the mission of the Fire Commission to serve in an advisory capacity for the Fire Chief, unifying the fiscal and administrative processes under the authority and accountability of the Fire Chief. It would also clarify the authority of the Fire Commission to review requests and make recommendations about the expenditure of County funds and would clarify the approval and expenditure authority under the Fire Chief. The Fire Commission would continue to serve a functional review and advisory role with regard to the budget, providing a check and balance to assure fiscal decisions serve the public interest. Additionally, the Fire Commission would serve in an advisory capacity regarding the budget of the volunteer fire fighters, policies and procedures as well as recruitment and retention programs.
Administratively, this legislation would reorganize the Fire/EMS Department with four Deputy Chiefs, to reflect the addition of a Deputy Chief in charge of the Human Resources (HR) Command. The HR Deputy would have direct representation and accountability for the Volunteer administration. This Deputy Chief would be selected from the Volunteer ranks, or would be required to document extensive volunteer Fire/EMS service, including previous service as a Volunteer Chief in the County system.
The proposed legislation will restructure the Fire Commission by improving its mission and objectives, while continuing to enhance citizen engagement as well as advocate for the needs of the fire service, both volunteer and career.
Also on STATter911 …
- Prince George’s County, MD police officer killed on I-95 after spotting theft suspects. PGFD audio of incident. – August 20, 2012
- Ex-chief tells council to ‘stick it where the sun don’t shine’. Declines Bangor, PA’s title of chief emeritus. – August 18, 2012
- New Fairfax County, VA fire chief is Montgomery County, Maryland’s Chief Richard Bowers. – February 12, 2013
- Failure to follow rules helps save life. Praise & thanks for Prince George’s County firefighters who transported little girl in fire engine. – December 23, 2011
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments
It's about time the County falls in line with the rest of the region. It is undisputable to reform a sytem that doesn't fairly represent the citizens of the County it serves. The Fire Commission has served it's purpose only marginally and is overrun by non-residents with only THEIR interests in mind. This will open the door to positive change with more financial oversight.
Citizen involvement, reform, and oversight are all good things. I don't think you will find many people who will dispute that a change in the Commissioners, would not be a good thing.
What most don't know, is that the Commission protected the Fire Department from the corrupt Johnson administration. The Commissions budget was spent directly on Public Safety. The people making the monetary decisions, did it for free. They did/do it based on the needs of the County's Fire Department; not the Executive or politically appointed Chief.
If this passes, the Commission who spends money on building repairs, supplies, apparatus repairs, renovations, and daily operating needs, will lose that money. If this passes, then the Commission who handles VRS, OIC certs, and Training, will lose that.
I don't think this has been fully looked into by the Union. If it has, they lose more than the Volunteers with this passing. If the Commission is turned into an advisory board and the Commission's budget for non-salary items is moved into the Operating Budget, they have nothing left to bargain against. The County is broke. Once this money is gone, the only thing left to cut is salary and pensions. PGFD Firefighters receive 70% plus in fringe benefits. That means that a Firefighter making 100K costs the County 170K. How long do you think that can go on. Without a designated line item in the budget to reference/bargain against, the money for salaries and everything else becomes one.
The big picture is that we all lose. Whether the County Executive likes the members of the Commission or not, shouldn't be the motivation for this bill. If it passes, the infrastucture in which the Commission maintains will crumble. At a minimum, building repairs, improvements, rennovations, apparatus repair, and supplies, training, and moral will all suffer.
''The big picture is that we all lose.''
The winners are the citizens, the firefighters on the front lines and the volunteer stations who actually do the right thing. Like the Concerned Citizen said, it's about time PG County gets out of the 70's and falls in line with the rest of the region!
Hopefully the volunteers close all their doors and take all their apparatus with them, and then the country can try and operate with their 5 firetrucks and 2 firehouses they own.
2 words, HOSTILE TAKEOVER.
Hopefully since they wouldn’t afford to own or operate them without county money and try an ambulance call once in a while
Brokenhearted, nice “If we can’t be the quarterback then we’re just gonna take our ball and go home” strategy, however you really need to read the County code before pulling that trigger, Pal. The moment any indepentently operated volunteer fire corporation discontinues service to the community, their charter with the State can and will be immediately revoked and all assets they hold immediately revert to the posession of either the local municipality or Prince George’s County. Bottom line, you may THINK you “own” the stations and fire trucks, but you dont…the community that paid the tax dollars that gave you the 508 checks and the citizens who made donations to you ultimately own them all…you don’t own diddly-squat. My advice to you: Attempt to play that card and you ARE done.
5 firetrucks?
I mean how long have you guys been on the internet that you can't read 5 firetrucks as sarcasm? The point is the county can't run their FD service without the volunteers, and if the Private Corporations decide to play hardball the county is going to screw themselves.
Doesn't quite work that way, but nice job on the scare tactics.
ANYONE who remotely believes that the Combination Fire Service in Prince George's County is folding up anytime soon is very mistaken. The citizens and County Government NEEDS both the volunteer and career firefighters onboard, on the same page and working together. The current FD Management needs to back off, the union needs to stop being so greedy and deceitful and work together. Otherwise, the only people who will be disappointed are the ones that we all choose to serve. Get rid of the egos and lets work together.
Changing the Fire Commission is the right thing to do. Anyone serving on a fire commission should live in the County. Any volunteer fire department that is doing the right thing has nothing to lose. The only losers in this deal are the current members of the Commission that do not live in the County or who like to feel high and mighty and say they are on the fire commisssion. The fact is that the Fire Commission forgot who they represent. They are supposed to do the work of the County Government not take care of their personal agendas and agendas that screw the career deparment and only benefit volunteers. And to the post related to protecting the fire department from the Johnson curruption…..please, lets open the books of some of the departments that have benefited from the decisions of the Commission and let's have a look at what the funds were used for or how it freed up donated funds?
The Fire Commission books and station management funds are audited each and every year. Next item?
Maybe it is time for the County to step up to the plate and run the Fire and EMS service for the first time Can they take over and close and relocate points of service and where is the budget for this and the cost of I would have thought some of the VFD's to combined but some feel the loss of power slipping from their hands Have the VFD's sold their operation to the public at large and can back up their statements, Has the County Dept done that but when you take a long hard look you sort of see the flaws that both have The public at large is the one being taken by both parties Did the local VFD's leadership run off people that were outstanding but poised a problem for them to keep their power and constrol Look around and you will see this happens in Local Goverment and the VFD's When strong leadership that members of the fire and ems can buy into then the county and the VFD's will make a forward move I see this a only a power play and control Notice that the fire and resuce person that runs the call is not part of the major resource the county has, but has become a major problem to their power struggle Infighting at the top all the while the public and the call runners not even thought about It is aways about the money and who controls it Audits and everyone is cleared, sure some had some poor record keeping We should have become fire protection districts like Bobby brought up many years ago
Lifelong County resident says
Changing the composition of the Fire Commission is the right thing to do, and the timing is right to make the change. Having a commission made up of strictly volunteer representatives and accountable to no one is not in the best of the citizens, and is simply not affordable to the tune of 11 million dollars per year. The system is nothing more than a vestige leftover from when charter government was created 40 years ago and fire and rescue services in the county were put under the control of one, county-wide Fire Chief, or at least that was the thought process at the time. A combination of politics, pressure from (mostly non-existent) volunteers, and financial considerations have conspired over the years to limit the Fire Chief's ability to develop and implement strategic planing documents, and severely restricted the Chief's ability to properly manage and lead the department into the 21st Centry. Virtually all of the neighboring departments around Prince George's County have dealt with this issue and come to the realization that it's time to let fulltime business professionals run that portion of their governments, and it's time that Prince George's did the same: we simply cannot afford to do otherwise any longer.
And just how many career fire fighters live within PG County?? So far nobody has provided those facts. The only thing that people seem to complain about is that the current commission does not live in the county.
I read the "press release" that the county put out and I would like to know just exactly how they recruited volunteers. I've never seen the county actively recruit volunteers, it has recruited career fire fighters but not volunteers. If it has then why does it take so long to get them through a back ground check, a physical and VRS? Last time I checked it was the volunteers recruiting volunteers and constantly harassing the county to get the back ground checks completed.
People here have been saying that "it's about time to get the PG Fire Service into the modern age and it's no longer 1970." Ok, if you're all for that I hope you like increased taxes to pay for all those career fire fighters that the fire chief says he needs.
The fire commission may not always have the interest of a particular v.f.d at heart but at least they know the volunteer fire service unlike the potential three civilians that the county exec wants to "appoint" to the new commission. And if he wants changes then I say let civilians be appointed to the career fire side for transparency and that includes local 1619.
This is the most moronic change ever. How in the world can you remove Alter and Harrison and the rest of the commission members who have probably 300 years of experience between them. Vince Harrison is the man!