Novi Professional Firefighters Political Action Committee - Spreading Fear and Misinformation

October 2009

With election day coming up within one week, November 3, 2009, this letter is neither for nor against any candidate. The election process works best when the public is provided correct information, digests that information and makes an informed choice. However, it appears that a certain political action committee for one union is bent on advancing its own self interest by disseminating misinformation and fear. This is a shame and has no place in the City of Novi.

On Saturday, October 24, 2009 I woke to find in my newspaper tube a yellow flyer. This flyer addressed concerns of the Novi full time firefighters. However, the flyer did not contain the legally required identification, i.e. “Paid for . . .” and thus it is in violation of campaign finance laws. I am always skeptical when I receive campaign information and the source of who paid for it is not identified. However, the flyer identifies the Novi Professional Firefighters Political Action Committee.

First of all we must understand that the firefighters are currently in the midst of contract negotiations with the City of Novi. The issues include wages, hours, shifts, health care benefits etc. Could it be that the Novi firefighters are attempting to influence their contract negotiations through the election process? What is most unfortunate is that when contract negotiations are being conducted elected officials cannot publicly comment on the substance of those negotiations. The firefighters know this. They have set up a candidate’s night which they know no elected official can fully participate in.

This flyer states that the City of Novi recently paid $65,000.00 for a study on public safety. That is true. The City hired the ICMA Consulting Services to conduct a study of the Novi Police and Fire Departments and to make recommendations for improvements. Interestingly, the ICMA study concluded that very few changes are needed for the Novi Police Department but many significant changes were recommended to improve the efficiency of the Novi Fire Department. The fact that the ICMA study concluded that few changes are needed for the Novi Police Department completely eliminates any criticism of ICMA as an organization hired to make wholesale changes.

In their review of the Novi Fire Department, however, the ICMA study reported several findings and made recommendations for improvements. The City of Novi has not yet acted on most of these recommended changes. To be sure, change is hard. People become comfortable in their routine. People get set in their ways. However, when it comes to public safety - the very essence of why local governments exist - the goal of providing for the best level of public safety services clearly overrides anyone’s routine or comfort zone.

The yellow flyer of the Novi Firefighters Political Action Committee indicated that the ICMA study suggested that the City close Fire Station No. 3 and sell three of four fire department vehicles that are equipped to transport patients. The flyer asks the rhetorical question, “Why does the city want to severely reduce the level of service currently provided?” This is rather like the famous question, “When did you stop beating your wife?” Of course the City will not do anything to “severely reduce the level of service currently provided.” Does anyone actually believe that a consultant would suggest, much less that a city would act, to “severely reduce the level of service currently provided?”

The flyer claims, “Taking one station out of the plan will increase response times from each of three remaining stations, causing a delay in emergency response to the entire community.” This is simply untrue. The flyer concludes by stating, “With the recent purchase of squad 1, the city now has four transport capable ambulances. If we sell three out of the four squads and replace them with SUV’s, we are reducing the level of service that is currently provided.” This is false.

What the Novi Professional Firefighters Political Action Committee is not telling you is the following. The ICMA study found that the Novi Fire Department responds to an average of 4,005 total calls per year. Of those 4,005 calls, only 3.8% are structure fires or outside fires. 70% of the calls are EMS medical calls. When one usually thinks of a fire department what immediately comes to mind is a firefighter in full fire turn out gear fighting a blazing building. The fact is they do that only 3.8% of their time. By far, 70% of their time is spent on medical and EMS calls. The City of Novi, as virtually every other city, provides a dual response to 911 EMS calls. When a person calls 911 for a medical emergency, two units are dispatched: 1) a fire department unit and 2) a private ambulance. The City of Novi has a contract with Community EMS to provide ambulance services to Novi. As pointed out by the ICMA study, “The challenge is to allow responders to arrive on the scene and begin treatment for EMS calls within 4 minutes (transport vehicles within 8 minutes).” (ICMA study, page 72). Thus, the goal in responding to 911 EMS calls is that the fire department will respond to begin medical intervention with a patient, i.e. CPR etc., to stabilize the medical condition of the patient. The ambulance is to arrive within eight minutes to transport the patient to the hospital if necessary. This is a one-two punch that is nationally recognized. The fire department stabilizes the patient and the ambulance provides transport services.

The ICMA study analyzed the data for the City of Novi Fire Department runs. They found that the average response time by the Novi Fire Department for EMS runs was 6.4 minutes and for general injury runs was 6.1 minutes. Response times at night are longer. One reason for this is the nature of the vehicle used by the Novi Fire Department. The vehicles are a “box-type vehicles for fire response but that double as a potential vehicles for transporting patients and serve as back up to the contracted advanced life support EMS services.” (ICMA Final Report Fire/EMS Operations Novi, Michigan, pages 17, 18). If the goal is for the patient to be transported, if necessary, by a true ambulance the fire department should not be slowed down in their response time by driving “box-type vehicles” that “double as a potential vehicle for transporting patients and serve as a back up” to a true ambulance. Hence, the ICMA study suggested that Novi replace the box-type fire department vehicles with SUV’s that will carry the equipment necessary to allow the fire department first responders to treat a patient yet get them to the scene to begin that treatment faster than driving the box-typed vehicles. In reviewing the data, the study reported that of the total of 2,819 EMS calls made by the Novi Fire Department, in only 19 of those calls did the Novi Fire Department actually transport a patient to the hospital. This is .1% of the time. Moreover, 13 of those 19 occasions were a result of the true ambulance, Community EMS, being delayed. Therefore, the ICMA study suggests that Fire Station No. 3 could better serve the residents of Novi if Community EMS - the ambulance company - were allowed to utilize that station to keep two ambulances physically located within the City of Novi at all times to allow them to respond quicker to 911 calls within the City. Given the fact that 70% of the calls by the fire department are medical and emergency calls, the ICMA study suggests that this makes eminent sense.

What is difficult to fathom is why the Novi Professional Firefighters Political Action Committee would read this same report and conclude that trading in the slower box-typed vehicles for SUV’s would “reduce the level of services that is currently provided.” This is pure nonsense. First of all, the City has not decided to do anything yet. But you can rest assured that whoever is elected to City Council and to the position of Mayor will make a decision to do what will reduce response times and increase the level of service to the residents of Novi. I personally know all six candidates for City Council and my opponent for Mayor. All of these individuals would do what is in the best interest of Novi to reduce response times by the fire department. You can rest assured of that.

What the City does not need at this time is anyone or any organization spreading fear. The men and women of the Novi Fire Department are hard working dedicated individuals. This political action committee is engaging in unfortunate behavior which does them a disservice.

Mayor David B. Landry, City of Novi