The Woodland City Council will discuss authorizing the city to execute a service agreement with two vehicle repair services companies totaling $250,000 for the ongoing maintenance and repairs of fire apparatus.
The cost — $150,000 for a contract with Golden State Emergency Vehicle Service, Inc. and $100,000 for a contract with Riverview International Trucks, LLC — has been included in the fiscal year 2023/24 fire department's equipment maintenance fund budget.
Staffing issues
According to the city staff report, the fire department assumed responsibility for all apparatus maintenance and repairs from the city's fleet division this year due to staffing issues within the fleet division.
"The public works director and fire chief, along with the city manager and finance department, agreed that the best and most cost-effective course of action given the situation was to outsource all maintenance and repair to fire apparatus," the report noted. "As such the fire department needs to enter into a contractual agreement with apparatus repair facilities to allow for timely and efficient repairs of apparatus."
This comes after the council adopted a March 2023 resolution allowing the city manager to authorize an additional $150,000 to an agreement with Golden State Emergency Vehicle Services for maintenance and repair services for fire apparatus. The additional funds led to a total agreement amount of $314,000, which caused then Councilman and current Mayor Pro Tempore Rich Lansburgh to question the city's approach to solving the problem.
"I think we should make a concerted effort to fix this issue before the next budget year," Lansburgh argued during the council's March 21 meeting. "Whether we entice current employees to get the training or we hire someone with the requisite skills. Spending this kind of money on maintenance for our fire equipment doesn't make me very happy."
He noted that although he understands the importance of maintaining equipment, the proposed agreement cost was not acceptable to him.
"I hope this is the last time you have to come to us for this kind of request," he asserted.
City Manager Ken Hiatt responded to Lansburgh's concerns by explaining that the contract was the only option the city had to ensure its apparatus remained operational, safe and functional.
"We prefer not to, we've had in staff before but it's very hard to retain them in this job market, so for now we had no other choice," he remarked. "What is reflected in this number, while it's elevated, is many years of deferred maintenance or maintenance that was incorrectly performed. On top of that, the cost of materials right now is exorbitant."
"We hear council loud and clear, this is not something we want to establish as a new baseline going forward."
At the time, staffing issues resulted in delayed preventative maintenance and excessive out-of-service times with occasional repetitive repairs due to a lack of certified fire apparatus heavy equipment mechanics.
Spencer Bowen, Woodland's communication and strategic policies manager, noted that the fire department's contractor costs for fiscal year 2023 as of April totaled $168,399.28, which included over $48,000 in parts costs and over $120,000 in labor costs.
Additionally, he clarified that the city does have a heavy equipment mechanic who performs important maintenance across its fleet, including fire apparatus.
"We contract our highly specialized maintenance, such as ladder truck undercarriage work that the city does not have the facilities to perform," Bowen explained in an April 13 email. "This mix of in-house and contract maintenance allows the city to repair its equipment as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our primary goal is to ensure that public safety vehicles remain on the road so that folks like our firefighters can continue protecting lives and property."
Davis and West Sacramento fire apparatus maintenance costs
Barbara Archer, communications and customer service manager for Davis, noted that Davis has two equipment mechanics on staff.
"They perform the vast majority of the preventative maintenance and repair on fire trucks/vehicles," she said in a March 29 email. "There are exceptions, such as when a software issue comes up for a fire vehicle."
She noted that these mechanics also work on other city vehicles and equipment including police vehicles, public works trucks, city generators, chippers, rollers, backhoes and loaders. In total, they service 270 pieces of equipment.
The latest data available from Davis is from 2022, which shows that the two mechanics received $133,327.87 and $126,676.94 in total pay and benefits, amounting to a total of $260,004.81, according to Transparent California.
Paul Hosley, communications and media officer for West Sacramento, said West Sacramento spends more than Woodland on contracts each year. It spends $360,000 with three contractors, including Golden State Fire Vehicle Services, to service its fire apparatus. Hosley noted that it spends more than Woodland because it has five fire stations as opposed to Woodland's three and that they do more calls, which results in them using their six engines and two ladder trucks more often.
"In West Sacramento, we do not have a facility like a big courtyard to do these repairs and we do not have a fire mechanic on staff," Hosley emphasized. "When the fire department needs their fire trucks and engines repaired or have to have maintenance, they send them out to repairs."
Hosley argued that this is more cost-effective for smaller cities while larger cities like Sacramento or Bay Area cities tend to do all of their own maintenance and repairs.
Bowen agreed with Hosley, noting that West Sacramento has a different mix of apparatus vehicles than Woodland, resulting in different service patterns and wear and tear.
Additionally, he noted that the Woodland Fire Department's expenses and performance summaries are shared regularly with the public and council including in their annual report.
New contract
The staff report noted that the city will be entering into another contract with Riverview International Trucks, LLC because Golden State has become inundated over the last year due to extended lead time for parts and supplies.
"Because of this, the department also utilized Riverview International Trucks, LLC for non-Pierce manufactured apparatus or repairs that do not require a Pierce certified repair facility," the report stated regarding Pierce Manufacturing, the builder of all the fire department's frontline apparatus. "The department does utilize other vendors for some repairs and has therefore received proposals meeting the informal bid process."
The report noted that Riverview was selected because of its competitive rates, prompt customer service and short turnaround times.
The council will discuss whether or not to execute the service agreement contracts with both Golden State and Riverview for a total of $250,000 for the ongoing maintenance and repairs of fire apparatus during its upcoming 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting at 300 First St.
Public comments received before 4 p.m. Tuesday will be read during the meeting and can be submitted by email to CouncilMeetings@cityofwoodland.org.
For more information on how to comment or to access the council's meeting agenda, visit cityofwoodland.org/654/Meetings-Agendas.
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