How do you convince the decision-makers to which you report that you need additional staff, funding or equipment to carry out your organization's mission? Many fire chiefs and ambulance directors in Minnesota today find themselves in the unenviable position of attempting to do more with less.
Minnesota has fallen to 48th nationally in fire service funding, and the largest subsidy to the state itself comes in the form of unpaid or underpaid EMS personnel who serve their communities.
Challenges
As response times increase in many paid on-call departments, due to the lack of available personnel, and resources are often tapped out even in career departments, it frequently leads to significant frustration at the chief level.
Across the state, emergency calls are increasing in number and complexity while at the same time the quantity of available personnel is not keeping pace, or worse yet, is declining. Real consequences emerge in the form of unanswered calls. Twenty-seven times in 2019, ambulance services were paged for a response in Northern St. Louis County and did not respond. They were not on another emergency call; there was just no one available. In multiple emergency medical responder (EMR) groups in Northern St. Louis County, the response rate is below 50%, and in one group it is at 20%.
The human cost is realized when a person dies from cardiac arrest while shoveling snow from a city sidewalk, and the city’s ambulance does not respond due to a lack of available on-call personnel. A neighboring service arriving 14 minutes later is of little effect after this much time has passed.
Virginia fire case
The Virginia Fire Department (VFD) faced a significant staffing challenge in 2015, with only 19 duty capable personnel on the roster, minimum staffing at five per each of the three 24-hour shifts, and an increasing call volume that was taxing personnel to the point of total exhaustion. Something had to be done, as past approaches were not working.
Advertisements had been placed nationwide for Firefighter II/Paramedics, with almost no results. Administration and Local 390 leaders conferred and agreed that the actual service needs, which were 86% medical, did not necessarily require that everyone hired be a Firefighter II/Paramedic. After a lot of very open and candid discussions among city administration, union officials, and fire administration there was consensus that a new workgroup comprised of single-role EMTs and single-role Paramedics was the best way forward.
Data presented
The opportunity was given for fire department administration to present the issue of staffing to the Virginia City Council. In a 45-minute presentation, the fire department’s call demand was broken down into manageable pieces of information. Fire and medical call types were separated out and then the medical calls were further dissected into the number of interfacility transports along with the time required and revenue received from this call type.
A 30-month look back at the call demand for interfacility transfers and the time in which these requests for service were made was shown to the council. Furthermore, the number of times the VFD was unable to accommodate a transfer request due to inadequate staffing was shown, as well as the average revenue lost from these unmet requests. Data was sourced from ambulance billing records as well as the dispatch center.
The juxtaposition of uncaptured revenue from the interfacility transfer turndowns against the cost of hiring an additional six single-role EMTs was graphically illustrated. To further cement the favorable cost/benefit ratio, councilors were shown data that demonstrated an exceptionally low hour utilization break-even point for the proposed new workgroup. Councilors’ questions primarily revolved around the financial viability of the proposal, as previously expected. The ensuing vote was a unanimous yes.
Workgroup created
A new workgroup comprised of single-role EMTs and single-role Paramedics was formed, and a memorandum of understanding outlining the new workgroup’s wages, hours and employment conditions was signed by the local union and the city. The implementation was not without misgivings by some inside the department, and the VFD was even accused by some firefighters from other fire departments of, “ruining the fire service on the Iron Range.”
The success of the program speaks for itself as the Virginia Fire Department has doubled the number of employees to 38 and generated almost an additional one million dollars in EMS revenue annually while running an additional 900 calls a year. The success of meeting a staffing challenge did not happen in a vacuum, and it did not happen by chance. There were a series of purposeful steps undertaken which included knowing the stakeholders and the development of personal relationships the city manager, city councilors, mayor, and the union.
Keys to success
The key to a successful funding request lies in the ability of the presenter, usually the chief, to view their proposal from the perspective of a decision-maker or a governing body. To make the most compelling argument, it is imperative to first understand the lens from which your administrator, council, or board is viewing your request.
If you only see your decision making authority, regardless of exact reporting structure, at budget time or when you want funding to purchase items, hire additional personnel, or otherwise need something from them, you are at a significant disadvantage. Think about the people in your life who only approach you when they need something.
A pre-existing relationship with your decision-maker(s) built on trust and credibility is necessary to facilitate a favorable view of your eventual funding requests.
Using data
The ability to use relevant data to influence governing bodies is quickly becoming a required skill set for chiefs regardless of department structure. Using data does not require an expensive program, either, as all the original charts and graphs presented to the Virginia City Council were composed in Excel.
Presented data must be accurate and easily understood by the intended audience, and the presenter must have personal and professional credibility. The appearance and simplicity of information put before a decision-making body are crucial. If the data is not presented in a way the receivers understand, they will be inclined to vote against any proposal that relies on information they are not able to comprehend.
Crucial communication
Communication, not just formally during the official presentation, but informally with decision-makers is often overlooked but a vital part of building credibility. Attending council meetings where you have no agenda item yet are present before and after the meeting to converse with councilors shows that you are engaged in the community and give tacit support to the work the council is doing.
Many councilors across the state also receive extraordinarily little pay for their services. When an informal conversation with a city councilor or administrator turns to emergency services, take the opportunity to praise the work crews have done recently before segueing into how additional staff, new equipment, or apparatus would improve response capabilities.
While thanking them for their support of the fire department, ask them to work with you on obtaining the needed staffing or equipment to help you keep the community safer. Allies on the council and in the administrative positions are crucial to obtaining the needed funding to implement a data-driven proposal. Even the most accurate and best-styled data will be ineffectual unless the governing body believes the presenter.
Establishing this credibility through direct communication can either be enhanced or hindered, depending on how a fire or EMS leader present themselves.
Preparation to present
When appearing before a decision-making body such as a council, dress appropriately. Your appearance speaks volumes regarding your credibility as a professional, the importance you place on the issue at hand, and the respect you have for the council or board. A doctor does not present themselves in dirt blue jeans and a faded flannel shirt to go over your lab results. When speaking to a decision-making body on your organizational needs, you are considered the subject matter expert. Dress accordingly.
And do not be discouraged by an initial denial of funding or personnel resources. This is an opportunity to go back and address the unanswered questions or procure the missing data which was requested. An eventual approval is likely to be obtained if you can return to the council subsequently to answer their questions. After summarizing the previously asked questions, proceed to deliver data-backed answers, and solicit follow-up questions for clarification.
Final thoughts
There is no magic trick when it comes to utilizing data to justify organizational growth. It requires a series of deliberate steps to build credibility inside the organization and with the council or board that will determine the fate of your funding requests for programs, personnel, and equipment.
Being successful with today’s decision-makers in fire and EMS requires knowing your department’s data and then leveraging that information to obtain needed resources. Gone are the days when positional authority alone allowed a fire chief to say, “I think we should.” That has been replaced with, “Validated data indicates, therefore we must."
As Edward Deming once said, “Without data, you are just another person with an opinion.”
Allen Lewis
Allen Lewis is the Fire Chief and Emergency Manager of the Virginia Fire Department in Minnesota. He is an EFO graduate, a CPSE credentialed CFO and CEMSO, member of the Institution of Fire Engineers (MIFireE), a Paramedic, as well as a certified IFSAC Fire Officer, Instructor, and Investigator with the Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board.
Chief Lewis has a master’s degree in Public Administration, a bachelor’s in Fire Service Administration and is an adjunct professor in the College of Safety and Emergency Services at Columbia Southern University where he teaches multiple courses.
Chief Lewis serves on the IAFC's Program Planning Committee, St. Louis County 9-1-1 User Board, St. Louis County Fire Chiefs' Association, Northeast Regional Emergency Communication Board, Minnesota State Fire Chiefs' Association Legislative & EMS Committees, and the regional Mental Health Task Force. As a well-traveled international instructor and consultant in the fire service and EMS profession, he has trained fire and EMS personnel in Afghanistan, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
