Presenter
Presented by Mr. Ravenstahl
Title
Communication from Deputy City Controller Anthony Pokora submitting a report on the Intergovernmental Cooperation: Arson Investigation and Public Safety Training.
Body
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
COOPERATION:
ARSON INVESTIGATION
and
PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING
Report by the
Office of City Controller
ANTHONY J. POKORA
DEPUTY CITY CONTROLLER
Anabell Kinney, Esq., Management Auditor
Gloria Novak, M.ED., Assistant Management Auditor
Trudy Hoover, M.IR., Performance Auditor
Woody Mudd, B.S., Performance Auditor
June 2006
INTRODUCTION
This performance audit assesses Intergovernmental Cooperation between the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The audit focuses on prior recommendations and agreements for cooperation/consolidation in the areas of Arson Investigation and Public Safety Training. Generally accepted governmental accounting standards were followed.
OVERVIEW
Intergovernmental cooperation can take many forms, such as merger or consolidation of services, the elimination of service by one governmental entity and assumption by another or the coordinated provision of service by all governmental units. A number of task forces such as the City-County Summit Working Groups (2004) and consultants (PA Economy League, 1993) have explored ways the City and County can work more cooperatively. Common areas were identified for consolidation/cooperation.
CITY FACILITY OVERVIEW
City Police Academy
The City Police Academy, located on Washington Boulevard, is staffed by thirteen full time employees: three Sergeants, one clerk, eight officers and the facility manager. In February 2006, the full time civilian manager was replaced by a Commander who also has responsibility for other support services.
Act 120 Training
The City Academy is one of sixteen academies certified in the Commonwealth to provide Act 120 training. Pennsylvania Act 120 was enacted on June 18, 1974 (P.L. 359, NO. 120) and amended in December of 1988. The law provides that before a municipality may use a person in the capacity of a police officer to enforce criminal laws, vehicle laws, or to carry a firearm, that person must be trained as specified in the Act. The minimum training (currently 700+ hours) is set by the State Municipal Police Commission. This certification training is only offered to new recruits. Some facilities like the County Police Academy offer Act 120 training to aspiring police officer citizens for a fee.
Other Training
In addition to state mandated basic recruit training, the City provides ongoing in-service training, remedial training and specialized training. Specialized training includes areas such as taser use and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and updated training in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), firearms and advanced first aid. Annual in-service training is mandated by the Municipal Police Officer Education and Training Commission (MPOECT). Remedial training is requested by supervisors as needed.
Training Schedules
The Academy is staffed twenty four hours a day, on three shifts: daylight, PM and night. The Support Service Manager oversees 2 sergeants, a clerk, 7 AM shift officers, 1 PM shift officer and 1 Night shift officer.
New recruit (Act 120) training occurs during the day. In-service training and specialized training occur at the main facility on a 24 hour basis so officers can attend during work hours. Twenty four hour staffing also eliminates the need for officer attendee overtime.
Training Facilities
The main facility located on Washington Blvd houses three classrooms and the canine training area but other locations are utilized because of space limitations at the main facility. The firing range is located on Highland Drive. Other training sites are the old firehouse on Penn and Lang, the Zone 1 basement and the conference room in Police Headquarters on Western Avenue.
Annual Costs
A research brief prepared by the Manager estimates annual recurring personnel and supply costs of $705,179.00. Training personnel and supply costs are not distinguished in the City Operating budgets. Police Academy costs are included in total Police Bureau supply and personnel costs.
Training Reimbursment
The City receives approximately $2,593 from the State for each Act 120 student. The City will only get reimbursed when it has a new recruit class. The State reimburses in-service police training at $57.80 per student.
City Fire Academy
The City Fire Academy, sharing the same facility with the Police Academy on Washington Boulevard, is staffed by five full time employees: one Battalion Chief and four instructors.
Training Facilities
The Fire Academy has two first floor classrooms and one downstairs classroom in the shared facility. A six story "tower" with windows and door openings is situated about 100 feet from the main building. The tower is used to simulate different fire rescue and recover scenarios. The auditors were told that due to lack of lighting, the tower cannot be used at night for training purposes.
Most training occurs at the main facility. Because City ordinances prohibit open air burning, structural fire training is held outside the city. The County's Fire Academy in North Park and Butler County Community College have been used for structural fire training.
Recruit Training
New recruits are trained with a four module curriculum approved by the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy. The recruits are given certificates when each study module is completed. At the end of the eighteen week training, recruits also earn Fire Fighter 1, Fire Fighter 2, Emergency Medical Technician, Hazardous Material and Basic Vehicle Rescue certification. Fire Fighter 1 and 2 certifications are nationally recognized certifications.
The recruit class that started training in September 2005 and graduated in June 2006 was the first recruit class in four years. The City is planning to train two more classes this year to bring the total number of firefighters to 628. Because of concern for future retirement benefits, 329 firefighters retired between 2004 and 2005.
In-Service Training
The Academy also provides on going in-service training for EMT, first responder and tactics. Most on going training is conducted at the Academy but defibrillator videos are shown at the fire houses. According to the Fire Chief, most training occurs during work hours; the City doesn't want to send firefighters out of the City in case of a fire emergency. During 2005, seven in-service classes were offered. The classes and the number of firefighters who took them are: AED training: 556, CPR: 596, Decontamination 1: 148, Decontamination 2: 172, Poisoning Emergencies: 557, Solaris Gas Meter: 556 and Pediatric Emergencies: 557. In 2005, there were a total of 588 City firefighters. Three of the seven courses, CPR, Poisoning and Pediatric Emergencies, are first responder courses. In 2006, risk management classes were added for captains and lieutenants.
Plans to add scuba diving and underwater hazards training are being contested by City Paramedics whose ranks already include 19 divers. According to a February 21, 2006 Post-Gazette article, the training would contain nine pool sessions and trips to Strawberry Quarry near Slippery Rock and a lake in West Virginia. These two field locations are much further than the County facility in North Park. Regional anti-terrorism funds would pay for the training which would be conducted by an outside vendor. The Bureau's Homeland Security grant of $537,069.00 will also pay for risk management, safety and survival, building construction and rapid intervention classes.
Training Schedules
The Academy is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 4:00. Because firefighters work an 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., 4 day shift, they are available for training during regular hours of operation. However, because new recruit training will consume daytime training for 18 weeks, in service training will be held at night or weekends. This will necessitate overtime pay for Academy training personnel.
Annual Costs
Annual personnel costs of the Fire Academy are $375,864.72. This includes salaries, longevity and holiday payments and clothing allowances for the five full time employees. The Bureau doesn't distinguish supplies and equipment costs for the Academy. Supplies and equipment are ordered as needed from the Bureau Supply Office. There is no allocation by program or other division.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 1:
The Bureau should keep a detailed internal accounting of spending. This will help determine the cost effectiveness of programs and activities.
COUNTY FACILITY OVERVIEW
County Police Academy
According to the Allegheny County website, its Police Training Academy was dedicated in 1971 "with the vision of providing all training for police officers within Allegheny County." Training is provided for all county municipal officers (except City of Pittsburgh) and for potential officers. This facility is located in North Park.
Mandated Training
The County Academy provides Act 120 training for recruits and aspiring police officers. Aspiring officers are citizens who pay tuition for Act 120 training. Current tuition is $3,123.00. Many police departments within Pennsylvania hire only "pre-trained" individuals, as this permits them to put officers "on the street" much quicker. According to the City Police Chief, the smaller police departments in Allegheny County require persons to have completed Act 120 training prior to accepting their applications for positions as police officers.
The auditors have not been able to schedule a meeting with the County Police Superintendent.
Other Training
According to the County website, 41 in-service training classes are being offered this spring. Fees ranging from $645 to $75 per course were listed for 19 of the classes. Whether there is a charge for the remaining 22 classes is unknown.
County Fire Academy
The County Fire Academy, sharing the same facility with the County Police Academy in North Park, is staffed by five full time employees: one Deputy Chief, one administrative assistant, three instructors and one part time employee. Like the City Fire Academy, the County Academy is a test site for the National Professional Qualifications Board. Facility maintenance and utilities costs are paid from the County Police budget.
Training Facilities
The main Facility has four classrooms which seat 65, 45, 20 and 30 persons and an auditorium/gym which seats 125. On the grounds are a building used for structural fire training, a burn unit that simulates live fires, railroad cars for hazardous materials training and a "flashover" simulator. This flashover simulator simulates different interior flash fire scenarios. This simulator was purchased with a $48,000 State grant and was the first simulator to be used in the state. The City's latest cadet class was trained with the County's flashover simulator and also with the County's structural burn building. Funds are budgeted to repair the burn building and construct a new simulated storefront building.
Training
The County offers courses approved by the National Fire Academy and State Fire Academy and courses developed by the Allegheny County Fire Academy. The Academy provides training for County fire fighters, for fire fighters in every Allegheny County municipality (except the City of Pittsburgh), for fire departments in surrounding counties and for private industry. Most of the attendees are from Volunteer Fire Departments and some are junior volunteer fire fighters. In 2005, approximately 6000 firefighters took classes at the Academy. It is not known if this 6000 is an unduplicated number of firefighters or the total number of people who took classes at the Academy.
There is much course overlap between the City and County Fire Academies. The County Fire Academy offers the same Pennsylvania State Fire Academy approved four module introductory curriculum that is used by the City Fire Academy. Certificates are given when each study module is completed. The Academy also offers certification training and testing for Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2 and seven other positions such as Fire Officer I and Hazardous Materials Awareness. Numerous other fire operations, haz-mat and rescue courses are also offered. The curriculum for Spring 2006 offers 12 firefighting essentials courses, 14 other fire classes, 6 seminars, 9 rescue classes, 4 haz mat classes and 2 other classes.
The only required training for fire fighters in Pennsylvania is Hazardous Materials (haz-mat) training. This is a federal training requirement. Compliance with the PA State Fire Academy curriculum is not enforced by the State.
Certification Processing
The Allegheny and Montgomery County Fire Academies and Philadelphia Fire Department have been delegated by the State Fire Academy to process training data and issue Fire Fighter 1 certifications. The purpose of this delegation of authority was to reduce certification turnaround time. The County Fire Academy processed training data and issued certificates for the June 2006 City cadet class.
SCOPE
Audit scope includes prior intergovernmental cooperation recommendations, assessment of progress to date, identification of impediments to implementation and assessment of benefit to all parties, especially to the City. Benefit includes cost savings and operational efficiency.
Only information from the County Police Academy website was available to the auditors. Because County Administration prefers to complete the City-County purchasing merger before discussing other merger possibilities, the auditors were not able to interview County police officials about County Academy operations or merger. This is the audit's only scope limitation.
METHODOLOGY
The auditors interviewed the following management personnel from the City Police and Fire Bureaus: the Chief of Police, Police Academy Manager and Canine Instructor, the Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief and the Fire Academy Battalion Chief. Documents reviewed include prior task force and consultant reports on intergovernmental cooperation and City operating budgets. Internet research included the County Police and Fire Training Academy websites. Site visits were made to the City Police and Fire Academies and to the County Fire Academy. At the County Fire Academy the auditors interviewed the Assistant Chief of Emergency Services
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Proposed Fire Fighting Cooperation
Cooperative Services Program
In 1993, the Economy League issued A Proposal to Develop Cooperative Arrangements Between the City of Pittsburgh and the County of Allegheny. The purported benefits of the League's proposals would fall into three categories: financial, programmatic and organizational. The League stated that "this proposal has the endorsement and pledge for total cooperation of the Allegheny County Commissioners, the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh and some current candidates for the office of mayor."
The League proposed development of a joint County/City basic fire fighter certification program; opening the anticipated Pittsburgh Fire Bureau pump test, training and certification facility to all fire departments in the County; creating a committee to focus on a long range plan to create a cohesive training/educational capacity to service all fire fighters; and design a public safety data base to provide a training master calendar for all fire services in the County/City. The anticipated primary benefit would be "lower community fire losses as fire fighters become more capable of preventing as well as suppressing fires."
FINDINGS:
The City and County Fire Academies currently offer basic fire fighter certification programs. Both entities cooperate in training and additional cooperation is planned. For example, the City Hazardous Materials team has been using the North Park facility for training at no cost to the City. Haz-Mat training at the County facility includes a railroad derailment simulator. Burning building and other training scenarios will be offered to City fire fighter recruits at no charge. Similarly, the County sometimes uses the Washington Boulevard facility on Saturdays when the City Fire Academy is closed for City training.
Zoning and equipment requirements limit course offerings within the City limits. Structural burn classes cannot be offered because of burning restrictions; flashover classes require a specialized simulator which the City does not own.
The City's Fire Academy appears underutilized compared with the County Academy. The County Fire Academy offers more courses to more people. (The City offered 7 non basic classes last year; the County is offering 35 non basic classes this spring.) for all City firefighter basic and in-service training.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 2:
To better utilize City facilities, the City should at a minimum offer Firefighter 1 & 2 certification county-wide.
Training Academy Merger Feasibility
At this time, merger of the training academies is not supported by all parties. City Fire administrators feel that combining training locations with the County is not feasible. The majority of training for City fire fighters is during working hours: the City wants to minimize sending its firefighters out of the City.
The County Fire Chief feels a new facility is a prerequisite to any merger. The facility must be large enough able to accommodate the County's clients and City firefighters. The facility would need to run day and evening training shifts. To accommodate the Fire Bureau's desire for speedy deployment, the new facility would have to be located in the City. A state of the art facility managed by the City Bureau of Fire would be able to accommodate most training scenarios.
It should be noted that the City has good working relationships with the County Fire Marshall and with other municipal Fire Companies. Mutual aid is provided when requested. For example, City firefighters assisted with the large Wilkinsburg apartment fire in early 2006 and the County Fire Marshall in the city to assist with Super Bowl night incidents.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 3:
At this point, a complete merger of the City and County Fire Training Academies does not appear feasible. The City Fire Bureau does not support merger and County Fire training administration believes a new facility would needed. A task force should be convened to study the capital and operational aspects of a new, joint Fire Academy facility as described above, including possible funding sources and programmatic advantages.
In the meantime, County and City Fire Bureaus should explore ways to further integrate training opportunities. For example, basic firefighter training could be done at the City facility and specialty training at the County Fire Academy.
Arson Investigation
Previous recommendations range from immediate merger with the County to more cooperative undertakings with the goal of future merger into one arson squad.
An October 29, 2003 report to City Council issued by the Regional Cooperation Committee, called for merger of duplicative services, including merger of the City Arson Squad with the County. The report assumed the City would save $240,000 annually in direct personnel costs.
The City's Act 47 recovery plan mandates that the City transfer arson investigation to the County. However, the recovery team does not anticipate this transfer will save the City much money. "Due to the need to reimburse the County for some time, savings equivalent to only one arson investigator is assumed."
In its report issued March 26, 2004, the City-County Summit Public Safety Working Group's recommendation falls short of immediate abdication to the County. Instead, "the City and County should explore greater opportunities for the respective arson squads to work together with an ultimate goal to merge both squads into one. The benefit of the move would be the ability to run three complete shifts with no overtime costs. There would also be a greater efficiency with staffing and deployment."
FINDINGS:
The City Fire Bureau believes a merger is not feasible because of different approaches to arson investigation. The City feels that the County will only investigate if a structure is involved.
The County Arson team operates when called out when volunteer fire departments consider a fire "suspicious" regardless if a structure is involved. The City Arson team investigates any suspicious fire to rule out if the fire was accidental, an act of nature or of undetermined origin. This is another way of determining if the fire was intentional. City arson also tracks suspicious fires to determine patterns of arson. Experience has shown that patterns of arson can escalate into larger fires.
The County and City Arson Squads work cooperatively. For example, the City was called out for arson assistance with the large Wilkinsburg apartment fire. City arson investigators use the County's arson dog when needed.
RECOMMMENDATION NO. 4:
The City and County arson investigation units have a good working relationship. Perceived different approaches to arson investigation appear to be the chief impediment to merger. The two entities should work to develop a mutual approach to arson investigation.
Police Academy Training
In 1993, the Economy League stated that the County and City had agreed "to the formation of one police training academy." The existing facilities would comprise the academy's two main campuses. The North Park campus would have primary responsibility for entry level basic Act 120 training and the Washington Blvd. site primary responsibility for mandated Act 120 in-service training for City police officers. Both campuses and satellite sites would be used for mandated in-service certification and specialized training. Anticipated benefit was enhancement of the overall quality of police training for all county and City police officers.
Similarly, the Public Safety Working Group advocated merging both academies into one academy while leaving both autonomous. The Working Group believed that shared staff and greater operational coordination would result in streamlined staff and greater efficiency of resources.
Some merger advocates assume the County would be willing to assume the costs of merger. The Act 47 team more realistically points out the need for reimbursement if the County assumes responsibility.
Because County Administration prefers to complete the City-County purchasing merger before discussing other merger possibilities, the auditors were not able to interview County police officials about County Academy operations or academies merger. It is not known whether the County advocates total, partial or no merger.
FINDINGS:
Current City Police Academy facilities are outdated and inadequate. A research brief prepared by the Academy Manager concludes that "police training can be a money making venture" by offering subscription training. Subscription training is allowing outsiders to attend training classes for a tuition fee, like the County Police Academy does currently. The number of outside students depends on facility size.
Offering subscription classes in current facility
Fully utilizing the available Academy classroom seating could generate money to offset the Academy's approximate $500,000.00 annual operating loss. The former Academy Manager examined the unused seating capacity for the City's AM, PM and Night in service training classes and estimated there were 416 unused seats last year
Filling these unused 416 seats with tuition paying attendees would have generated an estimated $27,050.00.
Offering Act 120 (recruit training) to outsiders could generate $127,060.00 more potential revenue. This estimate is based on offering a PM class to 40 subscription attendees and allowing 9 payees to fill the City's AM class. What the optimal charge should be is unknown; these revenue estimates were provided by the Bureau of Police.
Because Act 120 is a statewide certification, the City could potentially draw recruits from Western Pennsylvania and other parts of the state.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 5:
City Administration should seriously consider offering subscription recruit and in-service training at its current facility. Any revenue generated would help offset the Academy's operating costs.
New Facility Options
A new facility could offer more classroom seating and increased opportunity for subscription revenue. City Police Administration is exploring two new facility options: renovating the Pittsburgh Housing Authority (HACP) Police Headquarters or partnering with a university that would assume new facility costs and training.
A. Renovating HACP Police Headquarters
With the shift from large public housing complexes to more scattered site housing throughout the City, the need for a separate Public Housing Police force is becoming questionable. The Authority's facility is located on Washington Boulevard about 100 feet from the City Police-Fire Academy. Taking over this facility would give the Police and Fire Academies much needed space. (The Fire Academy could take over the joint facility.) City Police Administration estimate renovation costs of $2,000,775.00 to bring the facility up to date in terms of classroom space and technological advances.
B. Forming a Cooperative with a Local University
The State is not giving out any more police academy certifications. An affiliated university could use the City's MJPOETC certification to become a state certified police training facility. The university would have the funds to invest in a marketing campaign to start a subscription based service and the funds to construct a state of the art training facility. This relationship would be more attractive to a state affiliated university because it would have greater access to state funds than would a private school.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 6:
Until merger options with the County appear ready for serious discussion, the City should explore new Police training facility alternatives. A new academy facility would enhance and expand existing training programs and better allow for provision of subscription based services.