In a message dated 7/30/2003 9:05:03 AM Eastern Standard Time, Mark Snyder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Also mentioned is the idea of adding revenue to MFD by having firefighters conduct > housing inspections on their "downtime." Does anyone know more about > how that might work? > The idea is portrayed in the Rake feature as essentially a > done deal. Does anyone know if that's the case? The way the mayor described it in the two public meetings on the upcoming budget, it is indeed a done deal. However, there is a lot going on that might undo it. What's happening is that the fire chief wants to rehire laid-off firefighters. The mayor said fine, as long as you find the money to do it. So Chief Forte has been looking at many different ways to put more money in the FD budget, as detailed in the Rake article. One way he (Forte) has lit upon is to have the FD do the "environmental" part of housing inspections. This work is mainly outside the home; it has to do with junk cars, tall grass and weeds, garbage/junk in the yard. The idea is that since the firefighters are already going about knocking on the doors with safety information, they can do the inspection at the same time. Of course, the firefighters get to each house in this manner about once every four years. The housing inspectors do it once a month. And how the firefighters can see the back of the property from the front door is not explained. What the mayor isn't saying is that in fact, the FD wants ALL of the housing inspections program. The idea is that they will be a great success with the environmental inspections, so they will be justified in taking over the whole program. That's over 50 FTE jobs, and the program is paid for by inspection fees, so it would be a nice chunk of revenue and manpower for the FD. Of course, the firefighters do not have the training, equipment or software to do the job. And, if an owner fails to complete the required items, the inspector can order the work done and assess the owner for the cost. However, by state law, only the inspections department, and inspectors with specified education and training, can assess. The mayor has pointed out that other FD's in the US do housing inspections. What the chief may not have told him was that those other departments do it with non-uniformed, full-time inspectors, not firefighters between calls. Chief Forte has also claimed that their own inspections program is much more efficient, since the rental licensing program is only about 60 percent complete right now, while the fire inspections are fully done. This is true; however, the firefighers only inspect the hallways and fire doors. The housing inspectors have to go into the units and inspect electrical, plumbing and mechanical areas as well as general structural areas. One is a walk-through and the other is thorough and complete. What of the wear and tear on (expensive!) fire trucks? I can't wait to see them try to get a hook and ladder truck down my alley. Then there are the court appearances housing inspectors have to do. Since the person who did the inspection has to appear in court if the owner challenges it, that means that a firefighter, plus the rest of his truck crew, have to go downtown. The trucks won't fit in the ramp under Government Center, so they have to park on the street, blocking traffic. And if a call comes in, off the firefighter goes--and I suspect the average overbooked judge is going to simply dismiss the case rather than try to reschedule. The mayor, understandably, is trying to rehire some of the laid-off people. And the fire chief is doing whatever he can to make it happen. But this is a bad idea, and it needs to be squashed. --M. G. Stinnett Jordan TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
