HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Fire and Life Safety AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 5/26/2020
Meeting Type: Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.: Nathan Bell
Staff Phone No: (541) 726-2364
Estimated Time: 45 Minutes
S P R I N G F I E L D
C I T Y C O U N C I L
Council Goals: Provide Financially
Responsible and
Innovative Government
Services
ITEM TITLE:
FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY SPECIAL OPERATING LEVY RENEWAL
ACTION
REQUESTED:
Provide direction to staff by establishing a recommend rate per thousand for the
preparation of a ballot title and explanation to be presented at a public hearing and
set for final adoption by resolution for the renewal of the City’s Fire and Life Safety
(FLS) Special Operating Levy.
ISSUE
STATEMENT:
The current FLS Special Operating Levy passed by voters in November of 2015
provides for the partial staffing of an engine crew at Springfield’s Station #3 and
will expire on June 30, 2021. City staff are providing Council with a range of
options for Fire Levy renewal rates and their corresponding financial impacts for
funding a fifth three-person engine crew at Fire Station #3. A recommended rate by
the Council is necessary for the preparation of the ballot title and explanation.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Council Briefing Memorandum
Attachment 2: Draft Ballot Title
DISCUSSION/
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
See Council Briefing Memorandum
MEMORANDUM
Date: 5/26/ 2020
To: Nancy Newton, City Manager COUNCIL
From: Nathan Bell, Finance Director BRIEFING
Subject: Fire Special Operating Levy Renewal MEMORANDUM
ISSUE:
The current Fire and Life Safety Special Operating Levy (Levy) passed by voters in November of
2015 provides for the partial staffing of an engine crew at Springfield’s Station #3 and will expire on
June 30, 2021. City staff have prepared a range of renewal rate options and the corresponding
financial impacts of each on the General Fund. A recommended rate by the Council is necessary for
the preparation of the ballot title and explanation.
COUNCIL GOALS/MANDATE
Financially Responsible and Stable Government Services
BACKGROUND
In 1995, Springfield voters approved a general obligation bond issue that included funding to construct
a fifth fire station for the City. The station was designed and scheduled to be opened in 1999. As a
result of the passage of Measures 47 and 50, the City lost the financial feasibility of staffing all five
stations and chose to re-locate the fire engine staffing from Station #3 to the newly constructed Station
#5. Station #3 remained without an engine crew until 2003. In November 2002, voters approved a
$0.36 per thousand four-year special operating levy. This levy provided an equivalent of 12 FTE
personnel for the operation of the fire engine crew. The following table is a record of the four special
operating levies for fire services since that time:
Levy Date Duration Levy Rate Yes % No%
November 2002 4 years $0.36 60.70% 39.20%
November 2006 4 years $0.40 58.28% 41.72%
November 2010 5 years $0.36 70.47% 29.53%
November 2015 5 years $0.36 75.10% 24.90%
Service Provided
Fire Operations provides fire, rescue, and emergency medical response to citizen calls for a variety of
emergencies. This program provides the personnel, training, specialized vehicles, and equipment to
respond to calls for assistance in our community that threaten life, property, and the environment. This
includes fires, rescues, natural and man-made disasters, hazardous material incidents, medical
emergencies, and ambulance transportation.
Failure to pass the Levy with no replacement revenues identified would probably produce a 20%
reduction in fire suppression capacity for the City and its three contract fire protection districts. At the
same time, we can expect no reduction in calls for service. This would result in fewer response
Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3
resources being spread more thinly across the entire service area which will adversely affect the safety
of our community and firefighters.
The Levy supports the engine company at Fire Station #3 on 28th Street, which is instrumental in
delivering needed services. During 2019, there were 9,406 calls for service in the City of Springfield.
Fire Station #3 alone responded to 1,895, 20% of the volume. The Levy provides $1.6m in revenue
which is 7.2% of the Fire & Life Safety department’s FY21 budget. Loss of funding for staffing this
engine company would result in operational changes to maintain coverage in this response area.
Financial Requirements
In preparing a range of renewal rates and their corresponding financial impacts, staff began with
preparing a five-year forecast of Levy expenditures under the assumption that the City would maintain
the current funding of staffing seven FTE through the Levy. It is worth noting that this is less than the
required funding of eleven FTE if the City was to fully fund the fifth engine crew through the Levy.
This difference in funding has been the result of two factors. The first factor was a deliberate decision
to slowly move staff from the fifth engine crew back into the General Fund with the intention to
eventually retire the Levy. The other factor was the desire to not increase the Levy rate. With growth
of the City’s Assessed Value (AV) not keeping pace with the inflationary pressure of providing fire
and life safety services, the General Fund has absorbed the growth in expenditures that have exceeded
the Levy’s resources. The outcome of this is that while four FTE from the fifth engine crew are now
funded out of the General fund, the Levy rate is still at the original rate of $0.36 per thousand from
2003.
In addition to a forecast of expenditures, City staff also prepared a five-year forecast of the City’s
assessed property values. While this can be a challenging task during a time of economic stability due
to the many factors that influence property values, we had the additional impact from COVID-19 and
a potential recession to factor into this forecast. From looking at AV growth during the last recession
and information provided by the County on their projected COVID-19 impacts, staff decided to use an
assumed growth rate of 1.5 % each year over the five-year period.
Based on these forecasts, City staff have prepared the following options for Council to consider:
Option 1 – Fund the Levy at the current staffing level. This would result in a two cent increase in the
current rate for a Levy rate of $0.38 per thousand of assessed valuation.
Option 2 – Keep the rate unchanged at $0.36 per thousand of assessed valuation. This would result in
a deficit of $400,000 over a five-year levy period based on current levels of staffing funded through
the Levy. This deficit would have to be absorbed by the General Fund.
Option 3 – Continue moving Levy staffing to the General Fund. Each cent per thousand of assessed
valuation results in a $250,000 change in revenue collected over a five-year levy period.
Option 4 – Move staffing from the fifth engine crew budgeted in the General Fund back into the Levy.
This option would free up General Fund resources to address the financial impacts of COVID-19. It
should be noted than any increase in the levy rate will further exacerbate compression and its impact
on other existing levies.
Also attached for the May 26th work session is the ballot title and explanation from November 2015.
Currently it has been altered only to reflect the impacts of the updated dates and eventual number
changes. It may eventually need to be updated in its explanation as the final rate is determined to
more accurately reflect the funding level being provided by the Levy for the fifth engine crew.
Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3
CONCLUSION
Staff has scheduled another work session for June 22nd if council would like additional information
before making a decision. Staff has also scheduled a public hearing and adoption by resolution, the
necessary action for an election to be called in November for the renewal of the Levy, on July 6th.
The wording of the explanation with the ballot title does not need to be completed at the May 26th
work session as staff can develop the final recommendation language in conference with the Secretary
of State’s office. A potential outcome from the May 26 work session will be the inclusion of a rate
directed by Council. At the conclusion of the public hearing on July 6th, the Council could decide to
alter the rate.
Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3
Ballot Title
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
BALLOT MEASURE XX-XX
Caption: RENEWAL OF FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY SERVICES LOCAL
OPTION LEVY
Question: Shall Springfield levy $0.?? per $1,000 of assessed value for five
years beginning 2021/22 to staff fifth fire engine crew? This measure
renews current local option taxes.
Summary: Approval of this measure would renew the Fire and Life Safety Local
Option Levy that provides funding for personnel to maintain and
operate one of the five engine crews serving the City. The current
$0.36 levy expires on June 30, 2021. All five engines are staffed with
firefighter/paramedics that respond to calls for emergency medical
services and fire suppression.
The renewal of the levy at $0.? would continue to provide personnel
at one of the five stations. The staffing and operation costs include
wages and benefits, safety equipment, vehicle and equipment
expenses, dispatch, and required fire academy training. The full cost
of the operation of the fifth fire engine crew is greater than the
resources provided by this levy.
A home in Springfield with an assessed value for tax purposes of $?
pays $? in property taxes to support the current $0.? levy. At the
proposed rate of $0.? a house assessed at $? would pay $? in the first
year of the levy. Total estimated payments over the five-year life of
the special levy would be $?.
The estimated total amount of the money to be raised by this levy
each year are 2021/22 - $?; 2022/23 - $?; 2023/24 - $?; 2024/25 - $?;
2025/26 - $? for a total of $?.
Attachment 2, Page 1 of 1