The Center for Public Safety Management (CPSM) delivered a final analysis of the Kern County Fire Department’s (KCFD) current operations and administrative processes to the County Board of Supervisors in January 2018. Director Thomas Wieczorek and Senior Manager Mike Iacona presented the report.
KCFD provides fire protection services for over 500,000 citizens living in the unincorporated areas of Kern County and neighboring cities. The Fire Department is tasked with performing a difficult, diverse job due to a large and complex operational area.
Kern County Supervisors had commissioned a study of the Fire Department in 2017, in order to address KCFD’s structural operational deficit and to create a transparent budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year. CPSM’s technical experts evaluated the Fire Department’s deployment of emergency resources and determined that more than $12.75 million in savings could be achieved.
“I think the report speaks for itself,” stated Ryan Alsop, County Administrative Officer. “We have a great department. We have committed employees. Even a quarter of $12.75 million would be a substantial savings we can use.”
The Board of Supervisors is working with KCFD and the firefighters union to prioritize recommendations and work towards reducing the deficit.
CPSM provides training and research for ICMA’s members and represents ICMA in its dealings with the federal government and other public safety professional associations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, International Fire Chiefs Association, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Police Executive Research Forum, International Public Management Association for Human Resources, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), National Fire Protection Association, and others. CPSM also represents local governments at the federal level and has been involved in numerous projects with DOJ and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.