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OCN > 2404 > Black Forest Fire/Rescue Protection District, March 20 – District to provide clarity

Black Forest Fire/Rescue Protection District, March 20 – District to provide clarity

By Janet Sellers

Note: this reporter attended via an online Zoom meeting. This article was based on the agenda available online at www.BFFire.org, her notes from the meeting, and notes from BFFRPD secretary Donna Arkowski. Some details from the meeting were unavailable to this reporter at this writing.

Black Forest fire district reaches full capacity for budget estimations

The Black Forest Fire/Rescue Protection District (BFFRPD) appears to have reached full capacity considering budget estimations and configuration of facilities. This provides staff the opportunity to focus on solidifying processes, structure, procedures, asset management, and long-range planning. Therefore, staff has reorganized to emphasize the roles, responsibilities, and accountability for each section, branch, division, group, unit, and team. The monthly department report reflects these changes providing simple, clear, and concise information regarding projects and data while eliminating areas that have “nothing to report.”

District to provide clarity

Board Chair Nate Dowden noted that Chief PJ Langmaid has been chief since June 2020. Dowden questioned if the board had been clear in their expectations with respect to Langmaid’s performance. Dowden stated he has not been clear and direct regarding expectations and wishes to provide clarity and boundaries for rules of engagement and performance to promote the chief’s ability to succeed. An annual evaluation of the chief has not been provided previously by the board, but this will be done in the future.

The goal for this segment of the board meeting was to clarify which subjects do or do not require board consultation before the chief proceeds with actions. Some examples given were staffing agreements with other departments, development of a fire academy, and the presentation of outside communications to the board.

Board members’ responsibility

All board personnel were given large three-ring binders that contained district policies with approvals pending and documents pertinent to the administration of district business and operations.

The board’s responsibility to the district extends beyond financial oversight and includes objectives such as whether the board wants the department to be an elite force or to focus on a capable force that performs well. Expressing concern about the designation of an elite force, Dowden stated each firefighter is highly qualified and experienced. Whether the district firefighters are more elite than city fire departments was discussed. The word “elite” was questioned as a possible hyperbole.

Treasurer Jack Hinton referred to proposal policies in the binder noting specific language in some and his recommendations on some financial policies and questioned processes surrounding others. Attorney Linda Glesne has reviewed all proposed policies. Also reviewing the proposed policies, the directors expressed concerns that there may be ambiguities between policies and questions of content versus intent.

Treasurer Hinton reported that the district has assets of $1.78 million and $2.66 million in total assets. The previous month’s revenues were ambulance receipts of $7,785 and tax revenues of $53,936 with notable expenditures of worker’s compensation, restocked uniform items, and reported monthly hours worked of 8,291.7 hours.

District mechanic Gavin Smith traveled to Florida for final inspection of a tender, and among a few items noted was a $3,000 change fee due to extra painting required for the tender in Colorado, which will be paid for on delivery.

Strategic summary by Langmaid

Langmaid laid out his primary focus and intent:

  • Leadership development and alignment for the entire organization.
  • Development of management structure and processes to improve efficiency and succession planning.
  • Succession planning and development for continuity of operations and service delivery.
  • Strategic planning and alignment for organizational sustainability and stability.
  • Building and maintaining relationships with strategic and tactical partners.

Despite the significant daily operational workload, the leadership within the organization is consistently focused on strategic planning for the next five, 10, and 20 years of professional and high-performing service delivery.

Emry to assume the section lead for finance and administration

The reorganization timing was predicated on the leadership team’s desire to begin developing more detailed long-range plans, detailed asset management plans, and the departure of Director of Public Relations Brooke Reid. The departure of the director allowed the district to bring on a very experienced paralegal from the District Attorney’s Office. Lisa Emry was with the office for 10-plus years, allowing her to now assume the section lead for finance and administration. This change now allows for Administrator Rachel Dunn to focus on logistics and planning. Dunn’s wildland background has been and continues to be in logistics and she has now assumed the responsibilities of being the section lead for asset management plans, long-range planning, and the daily logistics of the district.

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Meetings are usually held on the third Wednesday of the month at Station 1, 11445 Teachout Road, Colorado Springs. Meetings are open to the public in person or via Zoom. The next regular meeting is scheduled for April 17 at 7 p.m. For joining instructions, updates, agendas, minutes, and reports, visit http://bffire.org or contact the director of Public Relations at Admin@bffire.org or call 719-495-4300.

Janet Sellers may be reached at JanetSellers@ocn.me.

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