HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence 02/24/2017EGEflVE
CITY OF P RT ANGELES
OR
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Public Safety Advisory Board
Council,
The Port Angeles Fire Departrnent is a vital departnent of our city with an enormous
responsibility. It provides a wide range of services, most ofwhich are emergency medical
services. Every person within the Department, both career and volunteer, puts forth their best
effort in order to provide an outstanding level of service. We, as members of both the Advisory
Board and the community, are extremely proud of the positive assistance that they are able to
provide.
Currently, the Fire Department is struggling to maintain the level of service that it has prided
itself on for decades. The Department has not been able to add the human resources necessary to
keep up with an ever increasing workload and the strain is very real. Over the years, the
Department has adopted a number of innovative measures in order to attempt to meet the need.
These included reorganization, changes to automatic and mutual aid agteements and collaborative
arrangements with adjoining jurisdictions. All of these measures have helped; however, the need
for service has continued to increase and the Department has run out of options. The addition of
personnel is necessary.
CITY Itr
CITY OF 42m 2017
WASHINGTON, U.S.A.
We, the members of the Public Safety Advisory Board (PSAB), would like to commend the City
Cogncil for placing an utrnolt priority on public safety for our community. Furthermore, it is an
honor to play a small role in this vital mission. One of our primary duties as the Public Safety
Advisory Board is to apprise the City Council ofthe community's need for public safety services.
As such, it is our intent in this letter to do just that. Specifically, we have been aware for several
years ofthe declining level of services that the Port Angeles Fire Department is able to provide
due solely to under-funding and it continues to decline. This carurot continue.
Personnel levels were last adjusted to meet demand in 1991, twenty six (26) years ago' Since
that time, the need for services determined by call volume of the Department has increased by
over 250Yo. Specific numbers show 1864 calls for assistance in 1991, this equates to about
five calls per day. By 2016, that number had climbed to 4,797 - which is over 13 calls per
day. Due to the sheer number of calls, it is not uncommon for there to be either a delay or an
underrnanned tearn to respond to a call. These statistics show an unacceptable decrease in the
Fire Departrnent's ability to meet the public safety needs of our community.
While we recognize that in today's reality of financial constraints it is difficult to ask citizens
for additional resources, there is no other choice if Port Angeles is going to continue to
provide for the public safety needs of the community. Port Angeles must have an adequately
staffed Fire Department which is able to handle the needs of the community.
Therefore, the Public Safety Advisory Board is strongly urging the Port Angeles City Council
to explore the various options that exist to increase additional financial support ofthe Fire
DeparEnent. The Fire Departrrent must add personnel in order to meet the immediate needs
of the citizens it serves.
The need is real and the time is now
Alan Bamard
Chairman
Public Safety Advisory Board
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