Gainesville City Commission hears Fire Rescue update, clarifies budget motion from previous meeting

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the March 6 Gainesville City Commission meeting, Commissioners heard a quarterly update from Gainesville Fire Rescue and clarified a previous motion that directed staff to bring back specific information at the March 27 budget retreat and May budget workshops.

Gainesville Fire Rescue quarterly update

During a quarterly presentation, Gainesville Fire Rescue reported 7,413 calls in Q1, with a turnout time of 47 seconds (compared to a national standard of 60 seconds) and travel time of four minutes and 56 seconds (compared to a national standard of four minutes). Fire Chief Joseph (Shawn) Hillhouse said the department is on track to be fully staffed by the end of the year for the first time in a decade; about two years ago, before the department went to a 24/72 schedule, there were about 30 vacancies. 

The Community Resource Paramedicine program is also fully staffed for the first time, with four EMTs and three paramedics, and the BOLD Program (part of the Impact GNV gun violence prevention effort) is fully staffed with a program director, two intervention specialists, and a part-time staff assistant. 

The Violence Interrupters made 194 home visits, 145 parental contacts, 708 field contacts, and 72 referrals in the first quarter, working in Tiger Bay, Duval, Lincoln Estates, and Sweetwater Square (Village Green). 

Community Health Director Brandy Stone said that although overdose deaths and poisonings have dropped nationally for the first time since 2018, she is still seeing an increase in the local area. “We have gotten what we call ‘Spike Alerts’ more frequently in the last three months than we’ve seen in a long time,” she said. 

Click here for the full presentation from Gainesville Fire Rescue.

Clarifying direction on the budget

During an evening agenda item requested by Commissioner Bryan Eastman to clarify instructions previously given to staff on the budget, Eastman said that since the February 6 City Commission meeting, he has spoken with some of the Charter Officers and the City Manager about some parts of the motion, such as a hiring freeze and a possible steering committee, and he wanted to discuss making some changes to the direction that was given at that meeting.

This was the motion that passed unanimously at the February 6 City Commission meeting:

“Direct the Charter Officers to bring back to the Commission recommendations in one report…, for consolidation, efficiency, staff sizing, and scope for their respective departments… These recommendations should consider data and aspects such as, but not limited to, job audit information, previous numbers of staffing budget – for example, what did we have in 2015? What did we have in 2020? What are we going to have in 2025? – … previous data on overlapping services – we did that in our agreements already – potentially having a steering committee consider hiring freezes, and bring it back in two weeks.”

After City Manager Cynthia Curry asked for more time, Commissioner Ed Book, who made the motion, said he just wanted the information before the March 27 budget retreat.

Eastman said he now believes the motion was “kind of putting the cart before the horse” and proposed new direction to staff that would split the data and policy elements of the February 6 motion: 

Charter Officers will bring back information on March 27 about their respective offices, which should include the following: 

1. Overview of office, scope, and responsibilities; 
2. 2015, 2020, 2023, and 2025 numbers/staffing and budget; 
3. Financial impact of job audits; 
4. Impact of 2024 GRU service reductions; 
5. Review of overlapping services between charter officers.

Charter Officers should also return to the City Commission during May budget workshops with the following information: 

1. Recommendations for consolidation, efficiency, and staff sizing for their respective departments in the event of GRU being a separate entity; 
2. Recommendations for consolidation, efficiency, and staff sizing for their respective departments in the event of GRU becoming a department of the City of Gainesville.

After reading his proposed motion, which was available in the meeting’s backup material, Eastman added that he didn’t think a request for a hiring freeze was necessary because “I think everyone’s steering in the same direction at this point,” and he added that he doesn’t support the subcommittee proposed by Commissioner Book. 

City Auditor Stephen Mhere said the motion was “much clearer than the last motion that we had. I know exactly what is required of me, and I think it is kind of straightforward to gather the information.”

Eastman made the motion shown above, and Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker seconded it. Nobody spoke during public comment, and Mayor Harvey Ward said, “It feels to me like this is simply a clarification of a previous motion that was kind of all over the place.”

 The motion passed unanimously, with Commissioners Book and James Ingle absent.