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THREATS 1. Roseville Fire is not nro�ressin� at the same pace as comparable peer fire departments in the Metro region: Surveys reveal that similar sized fire departments in the metro region are addressing is- sues and improving the quality of their service to their citizens faster than Roseville. Three examples of this are: The number of communities that are providing (and expanding) their fire-based emergency medical services (EMS). The number of fire departments who have hired some full-time staff to compensate for short- ages in paid-on-call firefighters during daytime hours. The number of fire departments who have hired full-time supervisors to oversee the paid-on-call firefighters who work shifts in the stations. 2. Fire�i�hter and resident safetv. The fire department provides inconsistent and unpredictable lev- els of serviceduring davtime hours due to lack of staffng: The ability ofthe fire departmentto pro- vide consistent and predicable service during daytime emergencies is a significant service and liability exposure. Residents should be able to receive comparable levels of service whether their house catches on fire at 1:00 in the morning or 1:00 in the afternoon. Such is not the case. Response times and the quality of service suffers due to lack of staffing during weekday hours. Despite the numerous marketing efforts being made, it is very difficult to attract quality daytime available firefighter candidates. 4. Misconceptions about the cost and benefts of emer�encv medical services (EMS) and about the qualitv of service being arovided bv Allina: Improving pre-hospital medical care is one of the most significant areas where quality of life can be improved for Roseville's aging residents. The Council has been led to believe that the quality of care provided by Allina is superior. The fire department's direct observations include 15-20minute (and longer) response times and numerous documented occasions where Allina did not have an ambulance available for a Roseville resident and the ambulance had to come from Hennepin County, causing critical time delays. The concept of cities providing their own EMS to address service quality issues is being pursued by a number of communities in the metro. We'd like to look at this again with the Council. 5. Increase demand for aublic safetv services due to a�in� aoaulation: As the community ages, the need for some services, like schools, declines while the need for other services, like social services and public safety, increase. Given the high percentage of Roseville residents who are over 5 5, we could benefit from asking them what is important to them and then ensure that we're giving them the services they desireJexpeet. 6. Need to address �S� and other incentives to retain firefighters and reduce the cost of turnover: It costs the fire department over $7,000 to recruit, hire and train a new firefighter. The average longevity of our new firefighters is about five years. The top reasons firefighters are leaving are: ■ Cannot afford to buy a house and live in Roseville so they move to another community. ■ Change in lifestyle (i,e. marriage, divorce, having kids, j ob change, furthering their education). . Retirement. We need to address pay and benefits issues and create incentives that help keep firefighters. The cost of turnover for the Roseville Fire Department over the past ten years is well in excess of $400,000. 4