National Fire Academy Board of Visitors Meeting January 25-26, 2001 Call to Order and Attendance: The meeting of the National Fire Academy (NFA) Board of Visitors (BOV) was called to order by Ms. Cynthia A. Wilk, Chairperson, at 8:30 a.m. on January 25, 2001. The following NFA BOV members were present for the meeting: Cynthia A. Wilk Dr. Robert S. Fleming Assistant Director Professor New Jersey Department of Rowan University Community Affairs 1406 Heather Lane Division of Codes and Standards West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0802 Donald R. Oliver, Fire Chief Robert J. Sledgeski Wilson Fire Rescue Services Secretary/Treasurer 307 West Hines Street Baltimore Fire Fighters Local 734 Wilson, North Carolina 27893 1202 Ridgely Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230 Neil Svetanics Art Cota, Division Chief 5817 Holly Hills State Fire Training 1421 North Jefferson Avenue P.O. Box 944246 St. Louis, Missouri 63109 Sacramento, California 94244-2460 Warren McDaniels, Fire Chief Steve Ennis New Orleans Fire Department National Volunteer Fire Council 317 Decatur Street 71 Beagle Road New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 Fredericksburg, Virginia 22406 Gary Tokle (Alternate) National Fire Protection Association 1 Batterymarch Park Quincy, Massachusetts 02269 The following FEMA personnel presented briefings during the meeting: Ken Burris, Ron Face, Denis Onieal, Charlie Dickinson, Esther Slemmer, Alex Furr, Hugh Wood, Wayne Powell. FISCAL YEAR 2001 BUDGET: Ron Face provided a briefing on the status of the FY 2001 USFA Budget during the closed session of the meeting. CAPITOL IMPROVEMENTS: Ron Face briefed the BOV on the many capitol improvements currently underway and proposed for the future. The campus water supply ran out the week before Thanksgiving. The Emmitsburg water treatment plant needs major renovations. The USFA will construct its own campus water supply. The plan is to drill three wells and construct a water treatment plant on campus. The BOV discussed water for fire protection. There have been meetings with the local fire chief to discuss concerns about water for campus fire protection. Ron Face provided handouts on the current and planed campus renovation activities. Planned renovation activities. In FY2001, complete the design of the new dorm and classroom building which will extend off of Building J. In FY2002, construct the new dorm and classroom building. Contemplate 30 office spaces in the new classroom building. TRANSITION TO NEW ADMINISTRATION: Ken Burris is the Acting U.S. Fire Administrator. Ron Face is the Acting Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Allbaugh has not been confirmed as the Director of FEMA yet. A new U.S. Fire Administrator will probably not be named until after Mr. Allbaugh's confirmation takes place. Nominees for the FEMA Director and the U.S. Fire Administrator must go before the Senate. President Bush has mentioned making the FEMA Director position a Cabinet level position. Mr. Allbaugh announced he has no plans to make organizational changes within FEMA. BOV CHARTER STATUS: The proposal to change the NFA BOV to the USFA BOV has been submitted to FEMA's Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and Financial Management Office (OFM). At the first opportunity, OGC and OFM will submit the changes for us. This has been identified as one of the potential items to discuss with the transition team and it is included in USFA's report to the transition team. Worst case scenario is it will be presented to Congress in the August/September timeframe when legislation changes can be proposed. REVIEW OF LEGISLATION: Denis Onieal provided a handout to the BOV that contained three slides covering important issues in the legislation. The legislation requires the USFA, in consultation with the BOV, representatives of TRADE, professional associations, and other appropriate entities to review all the courses available from the NFA to ensure they are up-to-date and are not redundant. The report needs to include all courses, and be completed by April 30, 2001. The review process will be contracted out. The Board concurred with the USFA plan to contract to an outside person and/or organization that was able to spend the time and get the job finished. The NFA should receive input from sources and organizations that are appropriate for specialized courses. Specialists in the area of the course should have input on the course review. The BOV recommended that NFA: · work with a consultant on the layout and format of the process; · reach out to specific groups that are experts in specialized areas; · find an organization or person with qualifications for handling these kinds of reports; and, · provide the BOV with the opportunity to review the report draft REVISITED MOTION: On Friday, the motion above stating that the BOV has the opportunity to review the report draft for a minimum of 3 days was revisited. A request to have the motion, or at least the piece on time, removed was put on record. After some discussion, it was agreed by the Board to rescind the motion from yesterday: "the BOV has the opportunity to review the report draft for a minimum of three days." The new motion was to add: "The BOV enthusiastically supports the report and intends to provide input in the process and completion of the report." The Board intends to appoint liaison person(s) to handle this. FIRE GRANTS PROGRAM: Alex Furr, accompanied by Vicki Murphy delivered the presentation on the Fire Grants Program. The Program is working under a very short timeline as the money needs to be disbursed by September 30. The Program needs support from the fire service to operate at its full capacity. The Grants Program is being offered to all 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. It is very important that everyone who could be eligible receives the opportunity to apply. The application is being kept as simple as possible Applicants are being steered to apply online because of the lack of errors that arise, but the paper version will always be accepted. Most departments/organizations have access in some way to a computer. There were a total of 13 proposed categories for the Grants Program. The decision of which category they will apply for will be the department/organization's choice. Applicants will be limited to only two of these categories this year. These categories are detailed in the Legislation. There is a $750,000 cap on each individual grant. If a joint application is made, it still falls under the same $750,000 cap. Grants will be going out to the individual fire departments. A definition for Fire Department is in the Legislation. Assistance from organizations will be needed to help sort out the thousands of applications. Application panels will need to be formed. The panels will be made up of people specialized in the specific grant types. A suggestion was made to put a listing on the USFA Web site of frequently asked questions to help reduce staff time. action plan status: Charlie Dickinson and Esther Slemmer gave a computer slide presentation on the status of the action plan. Four teams have been developed to work together on the action plan. These teams are: · Core Mission; · Leadership and Communications; · Staff Development; and, · Advocacy, Partnerships, and Marketing The selection of people for these teams was made across USFA. There are a total of 28 people in the four teams. Which is 30 percent of the total staff within USFA. The team members have volunteered to give their time and energy, besides handling their everyday duties. USFA is beginning to work together as a team instead of individuals. It is becoming a much healthier environment. A concern was expressed that these people are not receiving the recognition that they deserve. These people are not only making surface changes, but actually getting to the guts of how the organization works. The teams have addressed approximately 48 percent of the recommendations as of January 24, 2001. The completed recommendations will turn into one of three things (the 3 P's) · Practices, · Policies, or · Procedures The teams receive the recommendation, then see how they can make it one of the 3 P's. If it does not fit into one of the 3 P's, then the team must explain why. The teams look at the budget impact, the work involved, and then productivity. The Board decided that: · An attempt would be made to identify an Award Program for those involved in the Action Plan. · A call would be placed to Fire Engineering and other publications and ask them to do a follow-up on the progress that has been made. · The Action Plan should be acknowledged in the Course Review for Legislation. · It is appropriate to draft a recognition letter to the new Director, once he/she is appointed. · USFA has done an excellent job on collaborating with the Grants Program. · The Board suggested that the attempt be made to re-establish connections with the Emergency Management Institute (i.e., joint training, etc.) now that things are flowing so much better. PRIORITIES REVIEW: The Priorities Review process has everyone involved. The teams consisted of National Fire Academy, National Fire Programs, Response, Mitigation, Community Risk, and Human Behavior. The teams came together to discuss all courses (ICS, Haz Mat, Terrorism, Arson, etc.) and have worked very well together. The teams prioritized amongst themselves. They used a series of filters to reach the courses with the greatest needs. The Senior Staff then based its decision on the teams' suggestions. This step was finalized about a week ago. The bottom line is that they reached a figure and now they are cutting the paperwork to begin production. Wayne Powell and Hugh Wood handed out the FY 2001 Priorities Review Table. A member of the Board asked how various groups such as TRADE were included in this process. Wayne explained that TRADE played an advocacy role, not an approval position. The teams were made up of Training Specialists, Instructional Systems Specialists, Program Specialists, etc. The ground rules were to get with the program folks, TRADE, etc., to get their comments and concerns. This information was then funneled through the process. There was not a formal request this year due to the reorganization. From now on, the BOV would like to see the flow of the Priorities Review; they want to see where the idea came in, where and by whom it was considered, and what happened to the idea from there. The information given by TRADE is a critical part of the Priorities Review process. MANAGEMENT SCIENCE PROGRAM UPDATE: Denis Onieal handed out a slide presentation packet on the Leadership Development Program. It was asked whether the concept has been refined any further. Denis said that it remains undecided at this date but a decision lies in the near future. The BOV suggests that this report be added as a bullet item for the Priorities Review Board to look at. Burt Clark was in attendance to answer any questions on the program. 1. Compare this program to the EFO program. Students in this program are not automatically rolled into a next class. Every class is individually determined. In order to receive the Fire Service Leadership (FSL) certificate, a student must have all the competencies, regardless how he/she they got them. The student is responsible for his/her own portfolio or transcript and application for candidacy. The FSL program has no academic requirements. EFOP is more position-driven than this. By the year 2009, EFOP will require a 4-year degree. 2. Would this take care of the academic requirement for EFOP? This program does not replace the requirement of EFOP, but it would be taken into consideration for the academic requirement of EFOP. 3. The panel list on page 3, who made up this panel that initially reviewed the concept? We went to the major fire service organizations. We interacted with those that are our normal audience. We asked chiefs, NFPA, and major metropolitan fire departments, to give us three names and then we took low bids. There was concern from the Board that there needs to be more consultation with USFA partners to understand the flow and tie-ins involved. There is a need of articulation from other institutions. The BOV supports the Leadership Development Program but believes that the design needs further refinement. The BOV suggested: · An overall strategic curriculum plan be designed, and that it is shown how it fits in the overall plan. · Make sure everyone is treated equally. · Present to and involve all fire service organizations. · Put the proposal in the consulting study that is coming up. · Show in more detail how it integrates with EFOP. Ken Burris BUDGET: Mr. Burris discussed the process the USFA is involved in to review the 2002 budget. He shared with the group that it is his opinion that the new Presidential Administration is very optimistic and is going to strengthen FEMA efforts. REVIEW STATEMENT FROM LEGISLATION: The BOV discussed the Review Mandate from the Legislation on the NFA courses. The Board suggested USFA request an extension to the April due date. Ken agreed a 90-day extension would be requested through Congress. BOV APPOINTMENTS STATUS: Each current NFA BOV member's term will expire on September 30, 2001. Ken assured the Board that he would keep them apprised of all information he receives. Ken would like to get the 3-year rotation of members established again. BOV MEETINGS/CONFERENCE CALLS: There are a total of four BOV meetings scheduled for FY01; The October 2000 meeting, this one, one in March, and one other to be scheduled at a later date. Ken hopes to have one scheduled close to the end of the fiscal year. The fourth BOV meeting was set for June 13-17. June 13 and 17 are travel days and June 14-16 will be the meeting dates. Ken confirmed that monthly conference calls with the BOV and USFA senior staff will be held. The next conference call will be scheduled during the month of February. A suggestion was made by a Board member that information to be discussed during the conference calls be forwarded prior to the call so that everyone is on the same page. ENFRANCHISEMENT PROGRAM: Procurement has advised that they will only reimburse the States and not allow for advances to be made. They are trying to change this procedure. The budget office is encouraging the States to apply for their exact monthly expenses instead of applying for an advancement. There were only a few courses that are taught at the NFA that were not offered to the States. The BOV would be interested in seeing what courses were selected by the States. The NFA will send certificates if the States request them for these classes. The list of courses offered by the States can be found on the USFA Web Site through the bulletin system. CHANGES IN THE EXECUTIVE FIRE OFFICE PROGRAM (EFOP): The major changes that are being made to the EFOP are the elimination of the third year elective, the Key Leadership Program, the Chief Officer designation, and the academic requirement of having a bachelor's degree beginning in October 2009. There was discussion regarding the bachelors degree requirement. Out of all the items brought in front of the Board, the degree issue has been the most controversial. The suggestion was made that this be put aside for the time being and maybe get some more research done on the topic. The Board wants to look for ways to mitigate any negativity, maybe get a report from a focus group. It was agreed by the Board to revisit this topic at a later date. BOV REVIEW OF VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS INSURANCE SERVICE (VFIS) COURSE DYNAMICS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLE RESPONSE: This was a proposal made to the USFA for funding of a course to be offered through the States. The intent was to have half the States run the program the first year and half the States run it the second year. The Board cautioned about creating another driver safety course when many were available at the State level. The opinion of the Board is that there needs to be a course that changes the mentality of the drivers. The fire service needs to start suspending the drivers who are doing things such as speeding and refusing to stop at intersections, etc. There are plenty of driver training programs already available. It was the opinion of the Board that this proposal is a course that needs to be addressed. It should be part of the Curriculum Management Review. The Board feels that there should be a detailed study done on why and where these deaths are occurring (i.e., what time was the alarm being responded to, was the driver intoxicated, how fast was the driver going, etc.). BOV FISCAL YEAR 2000 ANNUAL REPORT: Cynthia Wilk passed out the draft of the fiscal year 2000 annual report and asked the Board members for any comments. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEM: The Board suggested Ms. Wilk send a letter to Mr. Allbaugh after his confirmation took place. The letter would be to welcome him to FEMA on behalf of the BOV and invite him to attend an upcoming meeting. Ms. Wilk agreed to prepare and send the letter. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. on January 26, 2001.