Title
Adoption of Resolution Confirming the Terms and Conditions for Compensation, Including Portal-to-Portal Pay and Overtime, for Alameda Fire Department Personnel Responding to Emergency Incidents Away from Their Official Duty Station. (Fire 10032)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Gerry Beaudin, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Alameda Fire Department (AFD) participates in the California Master Mutual Aid Agreement and the California Fire Assistance Agreement (CFAA), through which the City of Alameda (City) is reimbursed by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) for personnel, apparatus, and indirect costs incurred when the Department responds to mutual aid incidents. To receive reimbursement for travel time and rest periods in addition to time spent at the incident, known as “Portal-to-Portal” compensation, Cal OES requires that the City have a current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), or Governing Body Resolution (GBR) on file confirming how AFD Personnel are compensated for mutual aid response. This report recommends that City Council adopt a resolution confirming the City's existing compensation practices for all sworn Fire Department classifications to ensure continued full reimbursement eligibility under the CFAA.
BACKGROUND
AFD responds to mutual aid fires throughout the State of California as part of the California Master Mutual Aid Agreement. The City receives reimbursement from Cal OES for personnel and indirect costs as outlined in the CFAA.
Since 2015, Cal OES has required participating agencies to adopt and maintain a City Council resolution, MOU, MOA, or equivalent document on file to receive Portal-to-Portal pay. Portal-to-Portal time is measured from the request for mutual aid until the crew and apparatus return to their home agency and are ready for service. Failure to have a qualifying document on file at the time of dispatch limits the City's reimbursement to only the time spent actively working the incident, excluding travel time and rest periods.
The City's existing resolution on file with Cal OES, Resolution No. 206, was adopted in 2016 and does not list Battalion Chief as a covered classification. The job classification of Battalion Chief was created in 2025 as part of AFD’s reorganization.
DISCUSSION
AFD has fire and emergency incident response personnel in the following classifications: Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, Division Chief, Battalion Chief, Fire Captain, Fire Apparatus Operator, Paramedic/Firefighter, and Firefighter. The City already compensates all of these classifications, Portal-to-Portal and for overtime, in accordance with its personnel regulations, policies, and the current Memoranda of Understanding with the International Association of Firefighters, Local 689, and the Alameda Fire Chiefs Association. Adopting an updated resolution would confirm this practice for all classifications currently in the Department, including Battalion Chief, which is not named in the 2016 resolution.
AFD submits a current salary survey to the Cal OES Fire and Rescue Division annually, and submits for reimbursement of personnel, apparatus, and other indirect costs for FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)-approved incidents and other qualifying mutual aid responses.
ALTERNATIVES
• Adopt a resolution confirming the terms and conditions for compensation, including Portal-to-Portal pay and overtime, for all AFD classifications responding away from their official duty station and assigned to an emergency incident. (Recommended)
• Do not adopt the resolution. Under this alternative, the City would not have a qualifying document on file with Cal OES, and future mutual aid reimbursements would be limited to actual time spent at the incident, excluding travel time and rest periods.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Absent an updated resolution, Portal-to-Portal costs for any classification not named, currently Battalion Chief, would become partially non-reimbursed expenses charged to the City's General Fund rather than reimbursed by Cal OES.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with Alameda Municipal Code Section 25-5.1 and applicable state law.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution confirming the terms and conditions for compensation, including Portal-to-Portal pay and overtime, for all Alameda Fire Department classifications responding away from their official duty station and assigned to an emergency incident away from their official duty station.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas Luby, Fire Chief
By,
Anne Iturraran, Fire Administrative Services Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Finance Director