FP-5 CONT.
DEPUTY CHIEF JOHN CHAMBERLIN Kathleen Opliger Cont.
WHAT WAS YOUR ROLE? WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF THE EFFORT,
AND WAS IT THE THING YOU EXPECTED IT WOULD BE?
My role was multi-faceted. As we realized the
opportunity to expand the service zone under fire
district law of 1987 and saw annexations utilizing the
process, we asked ourselves why we weren’t doing
this for ourselves, not just the annexing areas. We
went through many revisions of the effort and their financial implications,
scheduled meetings with the County Fire Board of Directors [which is the San
Bernardino County Board of Supervisors acting as our fire board] and chief
executive officer staff, as well as the several CEOs of the county. Constant
review of budgetary processes and the establishment of the MOU between the
county and the fire district were driving factors in the establishment of the
overall need and effort.
Once we had the opportunity to present the potential effort and what each
of the outcomes would mean, it was incorporated into the fire district budget
hearing in June 2018. This is when we were given direction to proceed and
resolutions passed to support the effort.
I ultimately made the decision to task Chief Kat Opliger’s Type 3 management
team to the detail. This allowed me to turn over all the preliminary work that
had been completed over the previous 18 months or so, and via their efforts
make the final push.
Chief Hartwig assigned the effort to me from very early on for oversite and
development of the package, financial spreadsheets (budget staff rechecking
my work multiple times), and coordination between contractors and county
departments.
WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF THE EFFORT,
AND WAS IT THE THING YOU EXPECTED IT WOULD BE?
For me, there are so many major challenges related to this I can’t list them all.
I took great pride and ownership in the process because we knew there
would only be one opportunity. The public’s trust in government is always in
question. We hear it every day. I knew that this effort would come with great
political implications for our board of directors, Local 935 leadership and
finally our executive management team. Even with all the groundwork that we
put together before the vote to proceed with the effort or finalize the protest
results, difficulties presented themselves.
We contracted out the efforts to count the protests specifically so
that district staff had minimal to no interaction with handling those
materials. “Transparency” was a word that came to mind. But, we did not want
those who would protest to be put out by mailing the forms to a vendor out of
the county, nor did we not want to accept protest forms in our HQ. This meant
we had to handle the mail. This process was catalogued daily after the mail
was delivered to the county mail room (huge shout out to their staff!). All
hands were on deck some days here at HQ, as several people came in with
massive land holdings covering hundreds and, in a few cases, thousands of
parcels. These were all hand-logged and entered into the system with mailings
bundled and sent to our contractor.
Another challenge was the coordination of all the owners of record being
tabulated into a single mailing list and cleaning up records to assure maximum
notification. This was my leader’s intent message to the team as they took over
the efforts. We wanted our notification process to exceed the requirements, and
we wanted a package that would be able to withstand a challenge. In the end
we sent well over 350,000 notices, held over 20 community meetings (Chief
Hartwig made every single presentation himself), answered over 100 email
questions, and spent countless hours on the phone with constituents (Captains
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FIREWIRE • FALL 2018
Kyle Hauducouer and Steve Tracy handled this effort). We also pulled in Erin
Opliger from San Bernardino County Special Districts to assist in coordinating
all of the tax rolls, tax areas, mapping, GIS and finally the mailing list.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW ON THE FLOOR GOING FORWARD?
We just expanded a service zone, so our citizens will now be paying an
additional amount for services each year. There is a new level of expectation
on behalf of the public—expectations for your professionalism and delivery
just went up another notch. Finally, keep in mind that FP-5 does not solve all of
County Fire’s financial issues. But it is a step closer to getting us to where we
need to be through our cooperative efforts. Finally, I couldn’t be more proud
of all the staff of the Type 3 management team that were pulled in to execute
the process. Without their efforts, those of Local 935 and you covering behind
them, this effort would never have come to a successful conclusion.
ASSISTANT CHIEF
KATHLEEN OPLIGER
WHAT WAS MY ROLE?
Several months preceding the official roll out of the
FP-5 effort, Chief Chamberlin laid the early ground work
to set us up for success. Realizing the effort would
require the subject matter expertise of many, spanning
several months of execution, Chief Chamberlin decided to assign the project
to our Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT).
My role was as the IMT3 Incident Commander, tasked with leading our team
during this assignment. I took my direction from Chief Chamberlin who
acted as the Agency Administrator, representing the department. Our initial
discussions involved providing me with a situation status update that covered
all of the work he had completed to the point at which he made the decision
to mobilize the team. From there we developed objectives, including providing
me with his vision for the end state of the assignment. As is customary, I
interacted with Chief Chamberlin on a daily basis, then updated my team as
necessary, to ensure my leaders intent remained clear.
I was thrilled to have received this assignment for several reasons, but
mostly for the opportunity for our young team to gain invaluable experience
in an all-risk environment. This unprecedented assignment afforded me the
opportunity to encourage the command & general staff leadership to take
the lead in decision making, and in the delegation of duties specific to their
sections. They each did a phenomenal job interpreting, then executing the
incident objectives in support of the operational plan.
As is common when using the Incident Command System, it is often
unnecessary to engage all IMT positions. This assignment had a heavy planning
and logistical component, so each of these Section Chiefs expanded their units
as needed to meet management and operational objectives.
Early identification of the need to share information in a timely, accurate and
consistent manner over the course of several months required filling both the
Liaison and Public Information Officer positions. The assignment of these
two Command Staff positions were vital. They worked in concert with the
department Public Information Officer to deliver a common message to all
public officials and members of our communities.
This was an exceptional opportunity for our Incident Management Team to
experience a true “all-risk” assignment, and to have acquired such valuable
training that afforded them the opportunity to gain experience, qualifications,
and to take away many lessons learned that will serve us in to the future.
There were many challenges, most as a result of working in uncharted waters.
With each new challenge came a new objective, with each new objective, the
requirement for team members to be flexible and creative in their approach to
meeting leaders intent. It was rewarding to watch the ICS system, designed
for any event from small routine operations to catastrophic incidents, being
utilized on this non-traditional assignment to successfully manage the entire
FP-5 project.
Anticipating the future, empowering team members, being a good listener,
and maintaining excellent communications, both internally and externally, are
just a few of the common expectations of ICS. Each of these concepts proved
to be the solid framework that contributed to the successful outcome of this
assignment.
Although ICS can always be relied on for successful management practices,
this assignment definitely had its share of challenges to overcome. There
were several aspects of the project I didn’t expect, but I believe our success
came from a 100% commitment to believing in what we were doing, and to a
steadfast desire to serve both the internal and external customer with “Duty,
Honor, and Community” as our foundation.
I have served on IMT’s for nearly two decades, at both the type 1 &2 level,
responding not only to wildfires, but to many all-risk incidents as well. I have
never been more proud to serve alongside team members as I am with our
team. Made up of suppression and administrative staff alike, the personnel
that comprise our type 3 IMT are true and consummate professionals. Although
given a challenging assignment, each and every member truly excelled, and all
performed at a sustained superior level in the execution of their duties.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW ON THE FLOOR, MOVING
FORWARD?
opinions. Although we had many successes in our communities, it is important
for our membership to remember that there are still those who oppose FP-5.
One of the most compelling and common reasons for opposition of the FP-5
increase came from landowners that have inherited hundreds of acres of land
that has been in their family for decades. These owners stated that the land
they inherited and now pay taxes on, is essentially worthless because the
county will not allow development, yet they still have to pay the taxes and now
the increase on each parcel, as provided for under FP-5. It is examples such
as this that we should all bear in mind, so we can put ourselves in their shoes
when they openly oppose our parcel assessment, and/or when they stop by the
station to express their frustration(s).
As to the future of the FP-5 revenue, we can expect to see the initiation and
completion of several capital projects throughout the department that have
historically been postponed or cancelled due to lack of funding. Additionally,
we will work to build unrestricted reserves and address budget shortfalls in
areas that have long needed bolstering to support the overall fiscal health of
the department.
In follow up to the completion of the FP-5 project, it is important that
all members take the time to review the Chiefs FP-5 community meeting
PowerPoint presentation to ensure each of us can speak accurately and
informatively about the FP-5 assessment. As we move in to the future and
continue to provide excellence in service to our communities, I would expect to
continue to encounter members of the public who have FP-5 questions, as well
as those who wish to express either their support or opposition of the measure
for several months to come.
Although the FP-5 discussions and rhetoric seem to have somewhat diminished,
I would expect to see the topic begin to ramp back up as we approach the
coming new fiscal year. Fiscal year 18/19 is when our customers will begin to
receive their tax bill that will include the FP-5 increase. This is one of the most
compelling reasons for all personnel to educate themselves on the topic and
process of the FP-5 assessment. We owe it to our communities to be educated
on the fire department planning and business practices that will directly
impact our customers.
Many of the parcel owners attended our community meetings to express their
support or opposition to the measure. Chief Hartwigs genuine nature and the
transparency of his message were key to turning the tide on many opposing
TRACEY MARTINEZ PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
WHAT WAS MY ROLE?
I served as the department’s lead public information
officer, working side-by-side with Captain Steve Tracy,
the incident management team PIO. My primary role
was community outreach, which included coordinating
community messaging, monitoring the analytics of our outreach campaign and
keeping the community meetings on target.
WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF THE EFFORT,
AND WAS IT THE THING YOU EXPECTED IT WOULD BE?
educated on the topic and provided information resources. In addition to
handling hundreds of public and media inquiries, the PIO office worked tirelessly
to create and keep the web page updated, continuously putting out social
media announcements and assisting with numerous community meetings.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW ON THE FLOOR GOING
FORWARD?
Now that our communities have shown their support, it is our turn to keep
them informed on capital improvement projects and the impact FP-5 will have
on the department moving forward. It is imperative we continue to provide the
best service available and go above and beyond when necessary.
The most challenging aspect of the PIO role was in community outreach—
ensuring the public we serve and those who would be affected by FP-5 were
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