In at least two areas of the Department, watch exchanges and committee and workgroup membership, the lack of management controls reduces the Department"s control over staffing and increases the Department"s overtime liability. Until recently, the Department has not defined committee or workgroup membership and has paid anyone attending a committee or workgroup meeting during their off-duty hours, compensatory time off at time-and-a-half pay rate. In FY 1998-99, the Department reported to the Board of Supervisors that the Department had spent $576,691 in overtime for Department members to attend workgroup and committee meetings during off-duty hours. Since the beginning of our audit, the Department has redefined its policies regarding committee and workgroup membership, addressing concerns raised by the audit. However, we have identified several other areas where the Department could further tighten its control over committee and workgroup membership.

Additionally, the Department has not monitored the practice of watch exchanges among suppression and EMS staff. Procedures for watch exchanges are outlined in the Department"s General Orders and Rules and Regulations, but the Department has considered watch exchanges to be a personal transaction among suppression and EMS staff and has not taken responsibility for tracking and monitoring the exchange of watches. Our review of payroll records revealed that lack of management oversight contributed to manipulation of the watch schedule.

Committees and Workgroups

Since the beginning of the Budget Analyst"s audit of the Fire Department, the Department has re-evaluated the Department policies regarding committees and workgroups, including the payment of overtime for committee and workgroup meetings, and has restructured the existing committees and workgroups. The Department states that committees and workgroups are useful management tools but proposes to restructure the committees and workgroups, making them more task-oriented and less advisory or informational in focus.

Under the Department"s proposed revision, the Department has assigned an Assistant Deputy Chief to each workgroup or committee to prepare a committee plan, defining the (a) functions and tasks of the committee, (b) committee membership, including the number of members, criteria for membership and meeting attendance in of-duty status, and (c) meeting schedules. The Assistant Deputy Chief is not eligible for compensatory time or overtime pay for committee work. Committees will be set up to meet on the three different watches (A, B, C), and committee members will attend meetings during their respective watches. The Assistant Deputy Chief will be responsible for cost controls, including payment of compensatory time and expenditures for committee materials. The Department will continue to pay compensatory time at the rate of time-and-a-half for some workgroup and committee meetings and for training drills.

Although the Department is revising its procedures for committee and workgroup membership and meetings, we recommend that the Department conduct an ongoing review of the usefulness of each workgroup and committee and any associated overtime or other costs. The Department should annually review its committees and workgroups and reduce or eliminate committees that do not perform a function or produce a work product consistent with the Department"s mission, and should restructure or eliminate committees that have compensatory time or work product expenditures exceeding projected expenditures.

Under the Department"s new committee plan, the committees and workgroups do not have set budgets. The Assistant Deputy Chief will be responsible for cost controls, and ordinary committee budget items will be paid from the existing Department budget. Special committee budget requests will be submitted during the annual budget review. Committee members will continue to receive compensatory time for participating in drills and training, and such compensatory time expenditures will be included in the Division of Training or the Operations budget. We believe that the Department needs to set up a rigorous system for monitoring committee costs.

The Department"s revised procedures define committee membership, setting up committee meetings during members" regularly scheduled watches. However, the revised procedures also allow members to accrue compensatory time at time-and-a-half for some committee work. Our review of committee attendance prior to the change in policy shows that committee membership was often not well-defined, that meetings were not scheduled during members" regularly scheduled watches, and that the Department"s potential overtime costs for committee and work group meeting attendance was high. For example, the compensatory time cost for High Rise Committee meetings to plan, orient, and implement the December 19, 1999 High Rise drill was approximately $2,745.

To reduce such overtime exposure, the Department should develop written guidelines, outlining the reasons for committee members to attend meetings or perform committee work in off-duty status, and the Department Chief should approve committee and workgroup work plans, including the use of compensatory time for committee work. The appropriate Deputy Chief should approve any compensatory time requests during the course of the year that are not part of the initial committee work plan prior to the accrual of the compensatory time. The Department should evaluate the compensatory time costs for committees and workgroups prior to the FY 2002-2003 budget review and report these costs as part of the budget review, including a written explanation of why committee and workgroup members participated in off-duty status. The Department"s Division of Training should also identify compensatory or overtime expenditures for drill preparation and performance and report these expenditures as part of the FY 2002-2003 budget review, including an explanation of why drill preparation and performance is conducted in off-duty status.

Lastly, the Department pays compensatory time at the rate of time-and-a-half for workgroup and committee work. The Department should meet and confer with its employee organizations to implement Rules and Regulations Section 418, to pay compensatory time for attending committee and workgroup meetings at the regular rate of pay and not at time-and-a-half.

Watch Exchanges

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Firefighter"s Union and the City, and Department General Orders and Rules and Regulations cover the practice of exchanging watches among suppression and EMS staff. The MOU states that members may exchange watches "in accordance with the Fire Department Rules and Regulations, provided the exchange results in no net increase in cost to the City." The Rules and Regulations state that exchanges are a privilege and that "The procedures necessarily required to limit, control, delegate approval or disapproval for, and record such exchanges of tours-of-duty, will be as directed by the Chief of Department and contained in the Procedure Guide." The Policies and Procedures Guide states that "No officers or members shall be absent from their regular tours-of-duty more than twice per pay period," and that twice a year, a commanding officer can allow a member or officer to exchange four times "within two consecutive pay periods to be grouped according to the requester"s needs." Officers or members wanting more than four trades in two consecutive pay periods or more than twice per year must submit a written request to the Chief of Department.

The Department considers exchanges of watches to be a personal contract among suppression and EMS staff and does not closely monitor the exchange. The Department management does not consistently monitor exchanges and does not maintain written records of when the Chief of Department and/or commanding officers grant permission to exceed the limits on exchanges.

When a firefighter requests a watch exchange, each firefighter involved in the exchange signs and submits an Exchange of Watch form to the Battalion Chief for approval. The individual fire stations usually maintain these forms until the initial watch exchange occurs and then discard them. The stations also keep company journals with the name of the firefighter exchanging the watch and the name of the firefighter working. On the back of the time roll for each company, the company officer also records the name of the firefighter exchanging the watch and the firefighter working the watch.

Although the actual time roll records the trade for the firefighter exchanging the watch, the time roll does not record the name of the firefighter working unless premium pay is due. The Department does not track the second (or return) watch exchange, and the firefighters engaged in the exchange are responsible for ensuring that the return exchange occurs. The payroll system is set up to pay firefighters an average of 96 hours worked in a pay period. Because the three watches are rotated over a 21-day period, firefighters may work more or less than 96 hours in a specific pay period. The Department does not adjust the payroll to deduct pay for firefighters exchanging a watch or to pay firefighters working the watch. The Department assumes that discrepancies in pay are adjusted when the second watch exchange occurs, but does not monitor the second watch exchange.¹

The failure to monitor watch exchanges permits potential abuse of the system. Our review of Department time rolls showed several examples of manipulation of the Department"s watch schedule. For example, one firefighter at Station 19 worked double the normal hours in a tour of duty (288 rather than 144). These additional hours were not recorded in the time roll but could be traced through the back of the time roll, where the company officer had written the name of the firefighter working the trade. In our review of five weeks or two and a half pay periods we found frequent examples of firefighters exchanging away three or more of the six scheduled watches in a 21-day tour of duty. We found six examples of firefighters exchanging all six watches in a 21-day tour of duty in some cases in violation of limits on exchanges or without the proper approval of a commanding officer or Chief of Department. In one of these six examples, the firefighter exchanging all six watches also received overtime for working a "work day off" (WDO). In addition to this case of a member working a WDO when he had not worked any regularly scheduled hours, we found instances where members had filled in WDO on their timerolls when they were working an exchange. We found many other examples of firefighters working less than their regular schedule by exchanging watches and then receiving overtime for working a WDO.

The Department currently uses the practice of watch exchanges to reduce overtime costs. According to the Department, allowing firefighters to exchange watches reduces the number of vacant posts and the overtime costs for filling these vacant posts. Although watch exchanges provide flexibility to firefighters and paramedics, use of watch exchanges for extended time off creates problems for the Department. For instance, when firefighters and paramedics work multiple consecutive watches to pay back an exchange, they are at greater risk of fatigue, making errors, and incurring injuries. The Department is at risk for increased overtime costs for back filling posts when fatigued workers are sick or injured. Department management clearly has the responsibility to limit the number of consecutive shifts worked in order to reduce all of the aforementioned risks.

The Department is also improperly paying overtime by allowing firefighters and paramedics to work a WDO and earn overtime when they have worked less than a regular schedule by exchanging watches. The Department is making overtime available to firefighters beyond the provisions of the Fire Fighter MOU, which provides that overtime shall be calculated and paid on the basis of the total number of straight-time hours actually worked, except for statutory holidays and pre-scheduled vacations. By exceeding the terms of the MOU, the Department is creating incentives to manipulate the scheduling system and accrue overtime pay.

Rumors persist in the Department that some firefighters abuse the watch schedule by paying one another to work their watches in violation of Department policy, or failing to work the second watch in an exchange. The current system of recording and paying watch exchanges prevents the Department from monitoring and identifying such abuses of the system. The Department has no policy in place to enforce the second part of a watch exchange, although the Department could be responsible for compensating a firefighter for loss of pay if the second part of the exchange does not occur. Through the current system of considering watch exchanges to be a completely personal contract among officers and members, Department management abdicates its responsibility for workplace safety and equity as the relate to watch exchanges.

To better monitor watch exchanges and to minimize potential abuse and risk, we recommend that the Department pay firefighters for the hours actually worked when exchanging watches. By posting a payroll exception, the Department would deduct pay for the firefighter exchanging the watch and pay the firefighter working the watch. By paying firefighters for the hours worked, the Department would have a payroll record of the shifts worked and not worked, thus minimizing abuses of the system. Firefighters exchanging watches would be eligible for overtime based on the actual number of hours worked in the pay period. If a firefighter works an exchanged watch for another firefighter, and if the second firefighter does not work the reverse exchange within the 21-day tour, then the firefighter working the exchanged watch would work more than 144 hours in a 21-day tour and would be eligible for overtime pay. The MOU between the San Francisco Fire Fighters Union, Local 798, and the City states that a firefighter may exchange a watch, "provided the exchange results in no net increase in cost to the City". Therefore, under our recommendation, the firefighter exchanging the watch would have to work the reverse exchange for the firefighter working the exchanged watch within the 21-day tour to avoid payment of overtime. Our recommendation would continue to permit firefighters to exchange watches, in accordance with the MOU, but would require the reverse exchange to be worked within the 21-day tour. To increase flexibility, the Department should meet and confer with the Fire Fighters Union to increase the overtime limit for watch exchanges from the current MOU limit of 144 hours per 21-day tour to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) limit of 159 hours per 21-day tour.

Conclusions

The Department does not have adequate management controls over watch exchanges and workgroup and committee meetings, resulting in increased Department overtime liability and potential system abuse.

The Department is currently revising its policies regarding committees and workgroups. The Department plans to control time-coming and other committee costs by assigning to each committee or workgroup an Assistant Deputy Chief who would be accountable for costs. Committee and workgroup membership would be more clearly defined and committee and workgroup members would attend meetings during on-duty hours. The Department needs to set up a rigorous system for monitoring committee costs, including Department Chief approval of work group and committee work plans and the appropriate Deputy Chief approval of compensatory time prior to accrual. As part of the FY 2002-2003 budget review, the Department should evaluate and report the compensatory time costs for committees and workgroups, including Division of Training compensatory time and overtime expenditures for drill preparation and performance. Finally, the Department should meet and confer with its employee organizations to implement Rules and Regulations Section 418, to pay compensatory time for attending committee and workgroup meetings at the regular rate of pay and not at time-and-a-half.

To better monitor watch exchanges and to minimize potential abuse, the Department should pay firefighters for the hours actually worked when exchanging watches. By paying firefighters for the hours worked, the Department would have a payroll record of the shifts worked and not worked, thus minimizing abuses of the system. Firefighters exchanging watches would be eligible for overtime based on the actual number of hours worked in the pay period. If a firefighter works an exchanged watch for another firefighter, and if the second firefighter does not work the reverse exchange within the 21-day tour, then the firefighter working the exchanged watch would work more than 144 hours in a 21-day tour and would be eligible for overtime pay. The MOU between the San Francisco Fire Fighters Union, Local 798, and the City states that a firefighter may exchange a watch, "provided the exchange results in no net increase in cost to the City". Therefore, under our recommendation, the firefighter exchanging the watch would have to work the reverse exchange for the firefighter working the exchanged watch within the 21-day tour to avoid payment of overtime. Our recommendation would continue to permit firefighters to exchange watches, in accordance with the MOU, but would require the reverse exchange to be worked within the 21-day tour.. To increase flexibility, the Department should meet and confer with the Fire Fighters Union to increase the overtime limit for watch exchanges from the current MOU limit of 144 hours per 21-day tour to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) limit of 159 hours per 21-day tour. The City Charter provides that "officers and members may exchange watches with permission of the chief of department." According to the City Attorney"s Office this means that the Chief of Department has discretion in applying regulations and limits to watch exchanges and the recommendations of the Budget Analyst would not require any change in the City Charter.

Recommendations

The Department should:

2.4.1 Annually review its committees and workgroups and reduce or eliminate committees that do not perform a function or do not produce a work product consistent with the Department"s mission, and restructure or eliminate committees that have compensatory time or work product expenditures exceeding projected expenditures.

2.4.2 Develop written guidelines, outlining the reasons for committee members to attend meetings or perform committee work in off-duty status, require Department Chief approval of workgroup and committee work plans with members participating in off-duty status, and require the appropriate Deputy Chief approval for any additional committee and workgroup compensatory time and overtime expenditures prior to accrual.

2.4.3 Report compensatory time and overtime expenditures for committee and workgroups, including Division of Training compensatory time and overtime expenditures for drill preparation and performance, as part of the FY 2002-2003 budget review, including a written explanation of why the committee, workgroup, or drill preparation and performance could not be performed in on-duty status.

2.4.4 Meet and confer with the respective employee organizations to implement Rules and Regulations Section 418, to pay compensatory time for attending committee and workgroup meetings or conducting committee and workgroup work at the regular rate of pay and not at time-and-a-half.

2.4.5 Implement a payroll procedure to pay firefighters for exchanged watch hours actually worked and to deduct pay for firefighters exchanging the watch.

2.4.6 Meet and confer with the Fire Fighters Union to increase the overtime limit for watch exchanges from the current MOU limit of 96 hours per pay period to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) limit of 159 hours per 21-day tour.

Costs and Benefits

In FY 1998-1999, the Department incurred $576,691 in overtime costs for committee and workgroup meetings. Although the Department is currently revising its workgroup and committee policies to contain costs, the Department has not estimated the actual amount of cost-savings. However, the Department expects some continued compensatory time and overtime expenditures for workgroup and committee work, especially for planning and performing drills. Implementing more rigorous cost-containment measures and paying for committee and workgroup time at the regular rate of pay and not at time-and-a-half should result in a significant reduction in compensatory time costs.

¹ The Fire Fighters MOU allows firefighters to exchange "time-coming", and therefore, members may give time-coming to one another as payback for a trade worked.