Public Protection & Safety Standing Committee of the RTM Special Meeting Materials (linked)

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FIFTEEN ROPE FERRY ROAD
WATERFORD, CP 06385-2886
AGENDA
PUBLIC PROTECTION & SAFETY
SPECIAL MEETING
Monday August 31, 2020/5:30 P.M. - Waterford Town Hall
ZOOM Remote Access Only
1. Call to Order “
2. Pledge of Allegiance - “9
3. Roll Call
4. To consider and act upon the July 21, 2020 Meeting Minutes.
5, Consideration and possible action on item referred to committee:
A. Review/Enactment of a Stipend Program for Volunteer Firefighters (RTC 10/07/19)
B. Review the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee in regard to attached letter (RTC 08/03/20)
6. Adjournment

PHONE; 860-442-0553
FIFTEEN ROPE FERRY ROAD :
wwayater(ordctorg
WATERFORD, CT 06385-2886
MINUTES
PUBLIC PROTECTION & SAFETY STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE RIM &3
Public Hearing & Special Meeting
Tuesday July 21, 2020
5:30 P.M. - Waterford Town Hall/Zoom Remote Access Only
PUBLIC HEARING
The July 21, 2020 public hearing of the Public Protection & Safety Standing Committee of the RTM was
called to order by Chairperson Timothy Condon at 5:34 P.M,
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: April Cairns, Timothy Condon, Susan Driscoll, Richard Muckle.
ABSENT: Baird Welch-Collins
ALSO PRESENT: Town Attorney Robert Avena, First Selectman Robert Brule, Town Clerk David L.
Campo, Labor Attorney Eileen Duggan, Director of Fire Services Bruce Miller, Human Resources
Director Joyce Sauchuk.
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Muckle to open the public hearing in regard to a proposed addition to
the Waterford Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2.36 - VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS INCENTIVE
PROGRAM at 5:35 P.M.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Unanimous
PUBLIC COMMENT was submitted by the following: Board of Finance Member John “Bill? Sheehan,
19 Laurel Crest, Waterford, CT; Quaker Hill Fire Chief Vincent Ukleja, $1 Old Colchester Rd, Quaker
Hill, CT; RTM Member Thomas Dembek, 56 Goshen Rd, Waterford, CT; John Mariano, 126 Dayton Rd,
Waterford, CT.
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Muckle, to close the public hearing at 5:43 P.M.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Unanimous ,
SPECIAL MEETING
The July 21; 2020 special meeting of the Public Protection & Safety Standing Committee of the RTM
was called to order by Chairperson Timothy Condon at 5:44 P.M.

ROLL CALL
PRESENT: April Caims, Timothy Condon, Susan Driscoll, Richard Muckle,
ABSENT: Baird Welch-Collins
ALSO PRESENT: Town Attorney Robert Avena, First Selectman Robert Brale, Town Clerk David L.
Catnpo, Labor Attorney Eileen Duggan, Director of Fire Services Bruce Miller, Human Resources
Director Joyce Sauchuk.
AGENDA ITEM 3: July 7, 2020 Minutes
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Muckle, to approve the minutes from the July 7, 2020 meeting.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Unanimous
AGENDA ITEM 4: Review/Enactment of a Stipend Program for Volunteer Firefighters (RTC
10/07/2019) :
DISCUSSION ensued in regards to comments made during the public heating as well as additional
concerns by members,
MOTION by Muckle, seconded by Condon, to recommend an addition to the Waterford Code of
Ordinances, Chapter 2,36 - VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Condon, Muckle
VOTING AGAINST: Cairns, Driscoll
MOTION FAILED
Town Attorney and staff agreed to address the changes in the next draft.
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Cairns, to adjourn at 6:34PM.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Unanimous

Statement of J. W. “BH!” Sheehan at Public Hearing 07212020
Regarding Voluntecy Firefighter and Fire Police Incentive Program
T want to thank the Committee for their hard work thus far in developing this proposed
ordinance, Through the efforts of the Town Attotney, the Town Labor Attorney and the Human
Resources Director, I am sure this ordinance meets the criteria of the Federal Fair Labor
Standard Act (FLSA). :
However, ] believe that the ordinance has some weaknesses regarding information necessary to
permit the key elected boards (Board of Selectman, Board of Finance, and Representative Town
Meeting) to properly monitor this program, .
The only reports mentioned in the Draft Ordinance are an Incident Report for every dispatched
incident addressed to the Director of Fire Services and a quarterly report by the Director of Fire
Services that provides information regarding who gets paid the stipend. T assume the quarterly
report goes to the HR Director although there is no mention as to who receives the report.
recommend that the Committee include a requirement that the Fire Services Director report to
the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, and Representative Town Meeting-on the number of
recipients of the stipend and the total amount expended each quarter along with a statement
regarding the effectiveness of the program in incentivizing volunteer firefighters and fire police,
The elected boards do not need to know any names, just numbers and dollars expended and
success or failure of the incentive program.
I don’t know if the recent agreement with the Waterford Ambulance Service (WAS) and the
change in who responds to EMS Calls impacts this comment, Basically, the question is— Are
any volunteer firefighters also employees of the WAS? If so, there needs to be a mechanism to
ensure that a Volunteer does not get incentive credit as well as payment from the WAS, Ido not
see any such safeguard in the proposed ordinance,
In summary, I recommend outlining a safeguard procedure to prevent any incentive credit for a
call that was also paid for by the Waterford Ambulance Service and providing a summaty report
to the elected boards on the status and success or not of the incentive program at a specifically
defined interval (either quarterly or semiannually).
Thank you for your attention,

Christopher Venditti
; , 443 Sipple St.
2028 JUL 30 PH 3: 02 Oceanside, CA 92058
(860) 287- 4644
07/27/2020
Rob Brule
First Selectman
Town of Waterford
15 Rope Ferry Rd.
Waterford, CT 06385
I’m writing you today with a few concerns that | have regarding public safety within the
Town of Waterford. As of now, | have not resided in town for about 7 years due to Active Duty
Military orders, but | do still pay property taxes, and | keep a special interest in local Issues
because many of my family members are residents (mother, sister, nieces, and nephews).
The first topic | would {ike to bring up is the overall lack of fire protection within the
Town. | have a unique perspective on this issue because I've been a member of Waterford Fire
Engine Co.1 since 2009 but have not lived in town since 2043. | don’t believe anyone can deny
that the number of incidents the town fire services respond to Is decreasing, but we can ail
agree that volunteer participation is at an all-time low. It’s my understanding that more fulltime
professional firefighters have been added to the payroll in recent years, and the stations and
hours they work has been restructured, With that in mind, | find it very interesting that the
town thought it was acceptable to have no fire coverage from 0200-0600 daily. if there’s
anything that being an Infantryman in the United States Marine Corps has taught me, it’s that
you cannot predict when you'll need to be ready to fight and work you schedule around that,
but rather you need to maintain the highest state of readiness possible. I feel we as a Town are
lacking here.
Just last year on October 22, 2019 at 0445 a town resident had his life cut short due to
this lack of fire protection. The incident took place less than 1 mile from Waterford Fire Engine
Co.1, The first piece of fire apparatus was driven by the bunkman, and he could not adequately
perform the initial functions of being the first due piece by himself.
These functions include:
* Scene size up ~ Confirm or deny initial reports of fire, confirm location of
fire, confirm location of water supply, position the vehicle in an
advantageous location for its function, confirm or deny if anyone is
present in the structure, identify entry and exit points, identify locations
of possible victims, *ensure adéquate resources are on the way*, direct .
_ those resources until an INCIDENT COMMANDER assumes the role.
¢ Initial entry and search — search for fire and victims
e Initial fire attacks — advance the first hose line and attack the fire:

All of these functions should be taking place nearly sirnultaneously, but you tell
me how long it would take you, BY YOURSELF. Now put yourself in the shoes of
the homeowner who’s being overcome by smoke and heat. We cannot afford to
put that much stress on our firefighters and our residents due to a lack of
manpower, We are making an already bad situation worse,
{ bring this up because even though we are staffing 2 firefighters in town from 0200-
0600 currently, it’s not enough. These hours are also not part of their contract so theoretically
they could be cut at any time. | challenge you as the First Selectman to answer this question- Is
the reason for not having better fire protection money, or a lack of understanding? the
Waterford Police Department has been advertising a string of car break-ins on their Facebook
page for what feels like months now, which Is a great way to remind residents to fock their
doors. But does a large amount of car break-ins mean we add 2 additional officers to an
overnight shift on overtime? Is the cost worth the benefit? Are you familiar with the Kansas City
Preventative Patrol Experiment? This was a year-long study conducted by the Kansas City,
Missouri Police Department to see if they could make a correlation between visible police
presence and crime, and fear of crime. The conclusion was that whether the city was having
police proactively patrolling an area or staying out until called in (reactive patrolling) had
significant effect on burglaries, auto thefts, larcenies, robberies, and vandalism — crimes
traditionally thought to be deterrable.
| say all of that to say this, if we as a town are willing to ADD 2 officers to a shift due to
car break ins (property damage and stolen goods) which fs proven to not stop the crime, how
many more CITIZENS need to DIE for us to add adequate fire protection for the overnight
hours?
The concerning thing for me is that this lack of regard for residents when it comes to fire
protection isn’t a one-time thing in Town. In fact, it’s starting to become normal, which is not
acceptable.
___ Next I would fike to talk about what it means to have leadership present. The Police
department is staffed to have a Sergeant on every shift. Why is that? I’m sure your answer will
have something to do with having a high level of accountability at all times and degree of
tactical expertise ready to respond to any situation at a moments notice. fs the fire service any
different? Not only do they never have leadership present (Waterford Fire Engine Co.1 hasn’t
had a fire officer (leader) respond to an emergency call since October 2018), but now the
firefighters are forced to make up for this by using manpower needed elsewhere on the
fireground. Referencing back to my initial functions on the fireground, the following should be
handled by the incident commander - Confirm or deny initial reports of fire, confirm location of
fire, confirm location of water supply, confirm or deny If anyone is present in the structure,
identify entry and exit points, identify locations of possible victims, *ensure adequate resources
are on the way*, direct those resources tn, send necessary notifications to dispatch.
- Why does the Police Department get leadership and the Fire Department gets
Volunteers who don't have to have the same level of training as the firemen they “lead”
(we use that term loosely)?
- Why do you think it’s ok to let a failing system continue to fall?
- Have you ever coached a team without captains?

In closing, | have many issues with the way tax dollars are being spent, particularly when it
comes to public safety. My mother, sister, brother-in-law, three nieces and nephews live in
town, and | fear if something were to happen in their home that at least one of them is liable to
not make it out, ’ve already instructed them to give the address for our neighbors up read wha
live in the City of New London if something happens because they'll respond with an 16 man
crew within minutes (made up of 12 firefighters, 3 tieutenants*, and a battalion chief*). The
same crew that has bailed Waterford out recently for their lack of manpower. Offering $7 per
call will not make these “volunteers” just appear, and if it does, they won’t be better trained
than the professional firefighters. | look forward to hearing from you, Mr. Selectman, as weil as
a representative from the Towns Public Protection and Safety Committee. | can send a hard
copy of this email if needed.