Dear Sedona Eye Editor,
To date, the SFD Governing Board has held two Budget Workshops for the purpose of determining the 2012-2013 fiscal year budget – with an eye toward future budget years, as well.
At the first meeting, Board member Craig Dible presented an example of the reduction in tax dollars now paid by homeowners as assessed property values have so dramatically declined. He then attempted to illustrate how a necessary increase in the mill rate – though rendering revenue “dollar neutral” – by his definition, would be a tax increase. On the same handout was a comparison to the manner in which the Arizona MVD assesses automobile registration fees, as if that had any pertinence, whatsoever.
During the second meeting, Mr. Dible provided an elementary bar graph of the SFD’s annual budgets for the past ten years. (???) He then expressed his concern over some barren areas within the District’s 168 sq miles as if they should be dismissed in any calculations, yet coverage for which the SFD is in fact responsible. He went on to question where the oft repeated reference “over 4 million visitors to Sedona every year” could possibly have originated. Apparently, he performed extensive research in order to provide all in attendance his inane conclusions.
With all due respect, Mr. Dible: SO WHAT?!?!?!
Newly seated Fire Chief, Kris Kazian, the person whose wisdom and expertise would reportedly lead each SFD Board member to the right and proper conclusions where the new budget is concerned has clearly and definitely informed you of the very real, very dire financial circumstances the SFD is now experiencing. He sounded the alarm indicating the current situation unsustainable and if this Board fails to make the necessary changes now, the SFD will be effectively out of business in two years.
Board member Phyllis Erick’s response was “I didn’t buy it then and I don’t buy it now.” Yet offering nothing to substantiate that position. And Craig Dible provides entirely irrelevant information, unremarkable statistics and irrational exclusions of territory! So, as the Titanic takes on water without enough life boats, this Board is obsessively and compulsively rearranging the deck chairs!
They have effectively overseen a colossal brain drain within this district. Their own audit report reveals another 60% of personnel want out. Our new, hand-selected Chief has provided the “straight scoop” this Board insisted would be its call to action. And still . . .with the deck chairs.
Now what are they waiting for? What will be the next postponement of their proactive stance?
One of the things I have found most startlingly absent from four of the five seated Board members is any sincere expression of respect or appreciation toward those people who provide all our essentials services. On the contrary, obvious contempt for the very air they breathe is palpable. For better or worse, McGladrey closed the door on this Board’s jaundiced perceptions and false accusations. Any attempts to redirect attention from their responsibilities are now futile. Welcome to reality, people. Now DO YOUR JOB!
Wendy V. Tanzer VOC, Sedona AZ
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They want out, the most overstaffed, highest paid department in the Verde Valley? Please, let them leave.
A chief, assistant chief, chiefs management assistant, 4 Battalion Chiefs, and 15 Captains for 54 Firefighters and engineers? Phoenix has 8 Battalion chiefs, for over 1500 firefighters. No room to cut?
Accounting, this if fun, the time keeeping is done by an automated system and payroll by ADP, But SFD has a A finance manager, finance assistant. finance specialist, ambulance billing specialist and a billing/finace clerk. SFD position schedule page 34. Do you think maybe the assistant chief could sign paychecks?
And then more administration, a human resources manager and assistant, an administrative lead and assistant, don’t believe me, take a look at Sedonafire.org.
AZ law says the only person the board can talk without the chiefs explicit permission is the chief. If the chief stonewalls them, they can fire him, period. The board can’t discuss the circumstances of Hazime’s quitting, its a confidential personnel matter.
If you want higher taxes vote Cooperman, Schoen and Hazime. You won’t get what you pay for, but you will pay for lots of staff overhead that no one really knows what they do.
Let’s see, Tony, Phoenix Fire Dept has 8 Battalions with each Battalion having 5 to 6 Stations. How do 8 Battalion chiefs cover and respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? You don’t have any idea what you are talking about. Find a new hobby, this one isn’t working out for you.
Tony you sound like a complete moron!!! Dont let the truth get in the way of the lies and misinformation that comes out of your mouth.
Our final event to showcase the Candidates for the Sedona Fire board will take place tomorrow, Thursday April 12 at 1 p.m. The OLLI Lunch and Learn program will be hosting the candidates at Yavapai College. Please arrive at 12:30 if you plan to bring a sack lunch. Beverages will be provided.
This is a great opportunity to ask questions of those running for the new board, and the incumbents too. Hope to see you there!
When I cite facts and give my sources, in this case the Sedonafire.org, website, and an email from the Phoenix Fire Dept. I would be happy to share when I asked about staffing for the Phoenix Fire Department, I am called a liar and other names.
Obviously I am frightening those that collect a paycheck from SFD and do not perform a service.
Really, if an organization can not live without you, do you worry about your job?
I want to keep and pay well the 54 Firefighters, paramedics and engineers.
Those that no one knows what they really do? They should have low morale and be looking for other jobs.
We have a choice when we vote. We can elect an ex fire chief, and two people who live in the chapel and want to build a chapel station, the three are Hazime, Schoen and Cooperman. All three would most probably lead to higher taxes.
Or we can affirm our current board, which has the excess staff and and people with positions and no work running scared.
Tony—- I’m sorry your girlfriend was fired by SFD. I liked her as a Dispatcher she was one of the best; but where were you a year ago when she was working at SFD? I agree Sedona Fire needs to update their web page so it will reflect more clearly our current staffing conditions, but PHX Fire has way more overhead and Battalion Chiefs than you or I can imagine. 24 is their starting point. I counted 9 chief positions including the Fire Chief – Close to 38 Division Chiefs and 24 Line Battalion Chiefs, and don’t get me started on their Administrative personnel because I’m just a dumb Captain and can’t count that high (Remember?).
I know you really feel strongly about your opinions, it shows. The bottom line is the half truths you speak of do no one any good, because they don’t bring about real change. Just anger. I also cannot imagine any organization without supervision. Who do you purpose would run the day to day operations at the fire stations or coordinate on scene fire & EMS operations on our over 4000 calls per year. Please enlighten me how things should run without anyone really being in charge. What span of control is good for you, because obviously you have read our web site and have figured everything out.
Maybe the (SFD.org) website would have been updated if there was enough staff to perform that particular service.
SFD Captain,
Thank you for your input. I will be happy to forward the email from Phoenix FD that confirms the number of Battalions, that is the total not per shift.
Where was I when she was fired? I was communicating some of my concerns, and hers too, about the abuse and over staffing at SFD. Hazime terminated her. Was she fired because of the fact I was giving information to the board of SFD? I can’t read minds but that would be my guess. As you know, the four male firefighters were not disciplined for the same infraction she was terminated for.
Her being terminated did not make me any less angry about the waste.
You say “I agree Sedona Fire needs to update their web page so it will reflect more clearly our current staffing conditions ” . It’s exactly those conditions I am trying to make the public aware of. If you wish to hide the multiple levels of staffing and numbers of personnel, you might might want to hide some information on the SFD website. But, you are on the public payroll, public servants remember. We are not here to to provide some SFD employees a cushy job.
I have tried not to deliver any half truths, I have used the Sedonafire.org website, information given to me from Phoenix FD, and by people who have worked with SFD.
As you know, SFD has a whole IT dept if the website needs updating. If you can find them.
I previously worked in a union situation. It was normal for one supervisor to oversee 45-50 union employees per shift. I would hope every SFD firefighter, EMT and engineer would be well trained able to do his job without someone telling him every move to make. If they can’t work without supervision, we need some new fire fighters. I don’t think this is the case.
If all of Sedona is on fire, I would hope the firefighters would know what to do and then someone would wake the chief. I doubt they are incapable of working without someone looking over their shoulder.
Sedona Fire Dept is overstaffed, and mostly in the administration and management areas. Hazime is not the solution, not if he fired an employee because that employees friend communicated with the board information Hazime did not want the board to know.
The truth will make Sedona stronger.
Again, Tony, I need to suggest that you find another hobby. You have demonstrated that you don’t understand emergency services at all. Phoenix Fire may have told you that they have 8 Battalions, which they do, but they did not tell you that they only have 8 Battalion Chiefs. They have 8 Battalion Chiefs assigned to 3 shifts, A shift, B shift, and C shift. 8 times 3 equals 24. Right?
I don’t know where you worked in a union situation, whatever that is, but span of control, whether it is Fire or the Military, which you seemed to allude to that you have some knowledge, is much different than non life threatening situations.
I am a combat veteran from Vietnam where I understood span of control in life and death situations and spent my career as a Fire professional, including many years as a Fire Battalion Chief, managing Fire emergencies and 7 Fire stations. Your wife was fired for good reason, and I suspect that you didn’t help her cause. What experience do you have to make these ridiculous claims?
Just for clarification, Sedona FD has an IT department which has normal staffing of 4, a Telecommunications manager, user support lead technician, user support technician and a telecommunications employee.
In the interest of fairness the telecommunications manager appears unfilled in the 2011-2012 budget.
If ” Reality Checker” is looking for staff to update the website, he might look there.
It took 6 hours to create the Sedonafirefunnyfarm.com website from scratch.
Hey Tony get over your self will you!!
Let go of that resentment you have towards SFD because you think your wife was mistreated, get on with your life!! Your lies and misinformation only prove to others that you are a moron !! By the way tell your buddy Lowell Johnson(convicted of stealing campaign signs) that he has a really bad toupee!!!
Re: “It took 6 hours to create the Sedonafirefunnyfarm.com website from scratch.”
It looks it
NUT’s
I resent having my tax dollars wasted by civil servants who feel entitled to my money. I have no resentment to the front line personnel who actually do a job.
Wikipedia
“A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two – four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the platoon leader or platoon commander, usually a lieutenant. He is usually assisted by a senior non-commissioned officer—the platoon sergeant.”
Sedona FD span of control…. If you count the administration and support according to the SFD website 28, 19 Chiefs, Captains etc you have 47, actual engineers, EMT’s and firefighters 54. So 47 Admin to 54 workers. Not quite 1 to 1 but damn close.
The 911 center has 1 Supervisor to every 1.8 com specs.
These are all numbers form Sedonafire.org. The military, I would agree life and death as you say, 16 men to one officer and a sergeant, so 8 to 1. My union experience 45-50 to one supervisor. Sedona Fire at most 2 workers to 1 admin/ supervisor? Yet you tell me these are highly trained professionals. I only ask the voters to use their common sense and support the current board.
The more you argue, the more you make absurd and insulting accusations, the more facts I put out and the worse those spewing absurdities look.
Thank you. Have a nice day.
Tony the reality of our fire stations are not a 2 workers to 1 supervisor. Our on duty Battalion Chief supervises four fire houses that contain 8 ALS Companies (Fire/EMS apparatus).
I unfortunately never get to see them as much as I would like during our shift because most of the time they are working on there special projects to keep the day to day logistics of maintaining SFD operating. Stop buy the Fire House and talk with one. Unfortunately the list is too long to write what they do hear.
I on the other hand am a Captain you hear of, I over see 5-7 personnel depending on staffing. I have had the privilege to work in the fire service for both adequately staffed and under staff organizations. Understaffed organizations are inherently dangerous to both the firefighter and the public they serve. Needing to run from task to task on the fire ground not sure if the other assignments are being handled is not a safe feeling; SFD at times being one of them.
Several Incidents ring out during those times that I nearly lost my life, ( Who was watching our back, There was no overall Command presence tactically making decisions) I know to you this must be a myopic viewpoint supervising up to 50 people at a time but we know the truth ( that isn’t supervision ). We call it freelancing in our world, and it gets people hurt.
As to our Fire Engineers and I don’t want to downplay there role at all. A good Engineer will always safe your bacon in a sticky spot, but they do not over see anyone. All you need to do is look at there Job Description. They Drive and operate the Apparatus and perform all firefighter’s responsibilities. I don’t feel it is necessary to list all there job function I feel you get my Point.
Firefighters on the other hand are the manpower. They perform all task assigned along side there fellow counterparts – our Captains and Engineers. All are needed, but only one can be in charge with the overall operation of the emergency scene. Remember in our world someone is always responsible, we have a word in the fire service (Vicarious Liability) and it lands on the Company Officers chest when things don’t get done. Every Fire department operates this way, even Volunteer.
I know you don’t believe me but yes I was a volunteer at SFD before I was hired and every piece of apparatus had a Volunteer Captain assigned to it not just one captain per station like it is now. Back then I didn’t know who was in charge on an Incident now that was scary. We received a lot of countermanded orders (that means everyone had a different plan and no real work was being done! Ouch!)
I hope this sheds some light to our fellow readers and please stop in any of your Fire Houses. We would be glad to meet you so you can learn first hand what goes on at SFD outside the Blog-O-Sphere. We are not as bad as portrayed by some, I promise!
I forgot, I don’t need your email from PHX Fire. I have friends that work there. Sometime we need to just ask the right questions. Like how many total overhead chiefs do you have employed.
Tony,
I read and re-read your last post. I can’t understand what your point is anymore, other than you think you are the smartest guy in the city. You keep quoting Wikipedia for military definitions but you have no knowledge of how SFD or the military work. Military folk don’t like civilians throwing military lingo around like they were ever in a fox hole. By the petulant tone of your posts you were never in the military. I think you should take the email you got from Phoenix Fire and go look for a place to live down there. Bring a copies of all these posts and tell me how it goes.
You have not suppled any facts only silly statistics which have been manipulated to support your anger at SFD. I know that none of this will dissuade you from you continued barrage against the people you will call on one day in your time of emergency. I do look forward to you complaining in future board meetings to the newly elected board of Cooperman, Hazime and Schoen.
Captain SFD – Thanks for you insight and actual information!! It’s appreciated!! Stay Safe!!
SFD Captain,
Thank you for your intelligent and informational reply.
I am in agreement with most of what you said. I also agree with your span of control, you said “I on the other hand am a Captain you hear of, I over see 5-7 personnel depending on staffing.” Lets say you average 6 personnel. A total of 54 firefighters, EMS and engineers are on the SFD payroll. If each Captain supervises 6, SFD would need 9 captains. SFD has 15 Captains. What are the other 6 doing?
You may not know this, but what does the IT department do?
What do the 5 people in accounting do when payroll is done by ADP and and timekeeping by telestaff?
I’m hoping the Chief, assistant Chief, chiefs management assistant and the 4 Battalion Chiefs actually do something. What do the two civilian administration do? Could what they do be done by a uniformed staff?
The following two employees were making $100,000 plus.
Terry Schleizer, 911 center manager has been gone for a year, her position was merged with a supervisor, does anyone miss her?
What did Karen Daines do, her position is now unfilled, does anyone miss her?
I don’t mean to pick on the line personnel who actually do the job. But when I hear my taxes need to increase, I want to know everyone is working. I have spoken to some board members, they could not get information to satisfy them from either Hazime, or interim Chief Keller as to what these people do exactly. Sure, here is where they work, what do they do every day? Then the board and myself are accused going where they have no knowledge and micromanaging.
Still, what do these people do?
Hazime, Cooperman and Schoen all just want to raise the tax rate and add more staff. I want everyone who is paid to work efficiently.
I really appreciate your reply.
Thank You.
Tony
Many of the questions you ask make sense and as a taxpayer myself I don’t want to see money wasted. Unfortunately this back forth between you and and the rest will never be productive. The questions you have are better answered in person. Please go to any SFD fire station and talk with any firefighter. We are all well versed on the reasoning of the staffing plan as we developed it with management. Ask to talk with a firefighter if you don’t think you will get a straight answer from management. Many of the numbers you are providing are inaccurate. I would hope that SFD updates it’s website soon, that would help clear up some confusion.
On a personal note.
I will never get rich being a fireman I know this and so does my family. I love my job and for the most part the community appreciates the work I do. It seems a fair trade that Sedona citizens get prompt and professional fire and EMS protection for the taxes they pay. I bet many spend more on coffee in a year than they do on SFD taxes but I digress.
You say that those who answer the calls have nothing to fear but I have a hard time with that since I have not had a raise in 4 years and my benefits have been slashed. I question your true motives in the nature of your questions.
I encourage you to do a ride along with one of the stations. Maybe nothing happens that day, maybe you watch someone’s life change profoundly (usually for the worse in this business). Either way I think you will come away with a clearer picture of public safety.
Respectfully,
Just one Firefighter.
SFD firefighter
I have tired to get answers, the current board has tried to get answers. All we hear is if SFD has cuts, lives and property will be lost. SFD needs to justify EVERY position. It’s not micromanagement, it’s business.
If you want comparisons, let’s compare to Jerome, AZ. A nearby tourist town, lots of hills and small streets. One paid person, the Chief. Everyone else is a volunteer, they get paid per call, when they show up for a fire and then paid only once a year. Yes, Verde Valley Ambulance services as their ambulance, they also service Cottonwood and Clarkdale. Jerome has oddly enough not burned to the ground, and 85% of SFD calls are medical.
I am not asking to match Jerome. I am asking for sanity in the budget.
A few answers would be nice. Perhaps I will hear from SFD Captain.
I probably know more about SFD than most of the staff. My wife worked at SFD as a supervisor for over 7 years, even she does not know what some of the above mentioned people do.
Thanks for your reply.
Tony
First you compare SFD to Phoenix fire next Jerome. You can’t keep track of your own nonsense anymore! You read a website and got an email and you know more about SFD than the people who work there. Can you hear yourself? I get lots of emails and a prospectus from my mutual fund company but I am not arrogant enough to think I know more than the mutual fund manager. If you are supporting the current board that only makes the rest of us want to vote in the challengers even more.
Phoenix and Jerome have one thing in common, they both cost less per capita than Sedona.
Still don’t have any answers to what the multitudes of staff actually do.
I guess it’s true, nobody really knows.