Reno City Council & Redevelopment Agency Board
Monday, February 10, 2020
What Happened
The Reno City Council and Redevelopment Agency Board met to review fire department operations and airport emergency response. The council approved a Public Safety Committee focused on coordinating emergency services between the city, airport, and county, but deferred major decisions on fire staffing, dispatch systems, and airport mutual aid agreements.
Key Decisions
APPROVED — Public Safety Committee charter with 4 members (2 from Reno, 1 from Washoe County, 1 from Sparks) to address fire and emergency management coordination — 9-0 — Committee will report back on dispatch interoperability and airport mutual aid agreements within 4 months.
APPROVED — Motion for city manager to report progress on trustee agreements within 30-45 days — Unanimous — Forces accountability on unresolved airport fire service issues.
CONTINUED — Automatic Aid Agreement between City of Reno and Washoe County — No vote taken — Council requested separate special meeting with background materials and county correspondence before deciding; concerns raised about staffing capacity and service level differences.
CONTINUED — Mutual Aid Agreement between City of Reno Fire and Reno Tahoe Airport Authority — No vote taken — Public Safety Committee will comprehensively review agreement terms, coverage areas, and service definitions; current 1981 agreement has not been updated in 37 years.
Debated But Not Resolved
Emergency Medical Dispatch consolidation — REMSA argues City of Reno cannot provide dispatch without violating franchise agreement; City considering whether to expand dispatch operations to handle EMS calls. Next: Dispatch steering committee to make recommendation within 4 months.
Fire department staffing adequacy — Fire Chief states department is understaffed (0.87 firefighters per 1,000 residents vs. national average of 1.28). City Manager claims study shows adequate staffing. Next: City manager to provide specific page references from staffing analysis.
CAD-to-CAD system implementation — Eight years of delays on computer-aided dispatch upgrades. Disagreement over whether interim CAD-to-CAD fix or complete shared dispatch platform is solution. Next: Regional working group to establish timeline and budget within one year.
Fire sprinklers in new residential construction — Fire department supports; builders express affordability concerns. Next: Stakeholder meeting required before code changes; UNR grant application pending for cost-benefit analysis.
Airport fire response capability — Airport fire department staffed with 5 personnel daily; cannot handle structure fires independently. City fire department too stretched to reliably provide mutual aid. Next: Data gathering on response calls; possible revisions to mutual aid agreement language.
What to Watch
$2,500,000 — REMSA uncompensated healthcare costs from prior year — REMSA operating budget (informational; not an approval item).
$120,000 — Fire Academy annual operational cost — General fund (baseline; no change voted on).
Dispatch steering committee deadline (4 months) — Must recommend whether City takes over EMS dispatch, upgrades CAD-to-CAD, or pursues regional shared platform. Directly impacts whether fire/EMS calls are handled faster and which agency pays.
Airport mutual aid agreement revision — Public Safety Committee reviewing scope, training standards, and equipment requirements. Current agreement lacks specifics on who responds to structure fires at Hyatt Hotel, terminals, and parking garages.
Fire staffing and development approval standards — Council must decide whether to require new fire stations before approving developments like Stonegate (12-minute response time). Links growth, tax revenue, and resident safety.
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