Clark County Fire Department hires consultant

The Clark County Fire Department hired a consultant to help it draft a plan for the future.

Fire officials hope the $45,000 they're spending overall is well-spent.

But some rank-and-file firefighters said they think the plan is a flop that won't fulfill department needs. One county commissioner is doubtful it will address the tough issues ahead.

Thomas Consulting, based in Ojai, Calif., distributed an internal online survey to employees last week as part of that plan. The survey, which focuses on how the department could improve in management, training, communicating and saving lives, is expected to wrap up in early August.

Survey results will be used to help develop a five-year strategic plan for the department, which has been under public scrutiny for the past few years over six-figure salaries and allegations of sick leave abuse. An FBI investigation into those allegations is continuing.

A draft of the plan is expected by year's end.

About 250 Fire Department employees have participated in the survey. But some are refusing to take the survey, said a Fire Department source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"It's a worthless survey," the source said. "There's no communication. It goes up but does not come down. There are weekly updates sent out from a deputy chief, but when those come out, they delete them. They don't even read them."

Communication and leadership are two of the department's major issues, the source added.

"Most people feel they could do away with a lot of the fire management administration and start over," the source said. "Not so much the fire chief, but the deputy chiefs and senior deputy chief. Maybe it would change. Guys are out there, and none of them have any direction. There is never an answer to move this department forward."

County management warned that the plan "is not a PR fix."

"I acknowledge that I have heard comments about communication challenges in the Fire Department," said Ed Finger, assistant county manager. "I have heard similar concerns in other areas of the county. I think the best response to such concerns is the one Chief (Bertral) Washington has taken, which is to communicate with his employees, identify concerns and develop appropriate plans based on what is identified. ... I would also expect that if employees have valid concerns about the state of the department, that they share them."

Survey statements include: "CCFD is meeting the expectations of our community," "Our Mission, Vision and Values are in sync with the desires and needs of our community," "CCFD adapts to the changing needs of the community it serves," and "The provision and receipt of mutual and automatic aid is reasonably balanced."

Employees who take the 63-question survey are anonymous and asked to select answers ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" regarding the statements.

Calls to Sharon Thomas, a partner with the consulting firm, went unreturned.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said the "feel-good questions" don't do enough to tackle problems within the department. The Fire Department plans to hold focus groups and interviews for county management, the firefighters union, law enforcement, media, commissioners and others to further the discussion.

"I think we need to look at contractual issues as it relates to transporting, EMS-type calls versus fire emergency calls, staffing levels and compensation levels," Sisolak said. "I hope they would ask the hard questions and address the tough issues. The bargaining issues, retirement issues, how do they feel about those sort of things? This is the one chance you would get to hear from the rank-and file. I think (the survey) could be more."

The survey contract is less than $50,000, which means it falls under a county policy that sets a threshold for contracts needing County Commission approval. That spending limit allows the Fire Department to negotiate the contract. The strategic plan is subject to county management approval. Any policy-level decisions or effects on the budget will be presented to commissioners.

"I don't want to believe, certainly there was no intent, to keep it under that arbitrary figure to keep it from public scrutiny or discussion," Sisolak said.

Ryan Beaman, firefighters union president, said that the project should have been done through a local company and that he hopes "any data collected is able to provide insight on vital areas that impact our community as a whole, such as call volume and response times."

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.