TO:                  Mayor William F. Martin, Jr.

                                    And

                        Members of the Lowell City Council

FROM:            Bernard F. Lynch, City Manager

DATE:             November 15, 2007

SUBJECT:       Council motion OF 10/30/07 BY C. Mendonca

“Request the City Manager. report on Fire Station closings in each of past 3 quarters”

________________________________________________________________________

I have been in communication with Chief Pitta in regards to the above-mentioned motion.  The attached report presents a comprehensive overview of station closures over the last seven years, including the rationale and considerations for station closures, historical and current staffing levels, overtime expenditures and the effect of the 24-hour shift on station closures.

Historically, two companies are closed per shift during the 10-week summer vacation schedule and only one company per shift at all other times.  Currently, the Department is staffed for 201 positions, with 188 assigned to the firefighting force.  Of that 188, 23 are currently unavailable due to Fire Academy, retirements, extended sick leave, and extended injury leave.  Due to the manpower shortage, the 2-station closure per shift program was extended to November 4^th.

Of note, the 24-hour shift has had no appreciable effect on station closures since it was implemented in February 2001.  With the following exceptions, shift closure trends have remained fairly constant since 1998.  The large number in 2004 is attributed to the early retirement program.  The relatively low number of closures in FY01 and FY02 is likely attributed to an increased expenditure in overtime funds. 

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please let me know.

Thank you.