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HomeMy WebLinkAbout101.003 - Transfer PolicyEffective Date: June 2008 Kirk Wanless, Battalion Chief Current Revision Date: 01/10/2025 Section 101.003 Next Revision (1) Date: 01/10/2026 Page 1 of 7 Fresno City Fire Department 100 Administrative Manual SECTION 101.003 TRANSFER POLICY PURPOSE The purpose of this document is to provide policy, guidelines, and procedures when the Fresno Fire Department (FFD or Department) transfers sworn-safety personnel. APPLICATION This policy establishes the procedures to be followed for departmental transfers and outlines the responsibilities of the members and the Department in regard to completing the transfer process. OPERATIONAL POLICY Nothing in this policy will be construed to limit the Fire Chief's discretion to assign, reassign, or transfer members when the needs of the Department will be best served. It is Department policy to uniformly administer the transfer of members in a manner fulfilling Department needs and in consideration of the desires of the members. When all other considerations are equal, seniority will be the leading factor in the transfer process. However, the needs of the Department will be paramount in determining the employee to be transferred from one shift to another or from one station to another, as determined by the Fire Chief or designee. Departmental prerogative will be maintained to declare specialized positions exempt from the normal transfer process. Exempt positions are identified by the Fire Chief as requiring special consideration because of operational necessity. Example: • Positions reserved for new and/or probationary members. • Specialty Team Coordinators Effective Date: June 2008 Kirk Wanless, Battalion Chief Current Revision Date: 01/10/2025 Section 101.003 Next Revision (1) Date: 01/10/2026 Page 2 of 7 OPERATIONAL GUIDELINE Full transfers to all positions on the roster are conducted every two (2) years when certain conditions occur or by agreement between Local 202 and Fire Administration. Conditions that may cause a Full Transfer are: • Closing of companies/squads • Movement of companies/squads Full transfer draws are normally conducted as live draws but may be conducted using FD -44 forms by agreement between Local 202 and Fire Administration. Partial transfers are conducted when positions are vacated for any reason which does not require a f ull transfer. Vacant positions are to be filled within 90 days. Partial transfer draws are normally conducted using FD -44 forms exclusively. Transfer Request forms exist for each rank: FD -44A for Captains; FD -44B for Engineers; and FD -44C for Firefighters. Transfer Request forms are submitted by electronic mail to Outlook mailbox Fire Transfers (Fire.Transfers@fresno.gov ). After a Transfer Request form is submitted, members will receive an email from the Operations MAII indicating it has been received. The Transfer Request forms (FD -44) are used for scheduled departmental transfer draws. It is the member’s responsibility to submit their revised FD -44 prior to any announced deadlines related to upcoming scheduled departmental transfer draws. Members are strongly encouraged to submit an FD -44 for any live draw Members who have transferred from a 56-hour assignment to a 40-hour staff assignment (i.e., assistant training officer) and are transferring back to a 56-hour assignment will be allowed to participate in a transfer draw when possible. Transfers to specialty team position (i.e., Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting [ARFF], Communications Team [COM], Hazardous Materials Response Team [HMRT], Fire Investigations Team, Urban Search and Rescue [US&R]), or Water Rescue Team (WRT) are limited to appointed team members. If there are insufficient appointed team members, the position should remain vacant (for transfer draw purposes only) until such time as a member is appointed in accordance with Administrative Manual, Section 104.002, Specialty Teams General Guidelines. Solicitation for members to be appointed to a specialty team should occur anytime there are vacancies in a team that have not been filled by a full or partial transfer draw . In cases where a position continues to be unfilled after solicitation, the Fire Chief may choose to appoint a member to the team , seniority will be the leading Effective Date: June 2008 Kirk Wanless, Battalion Chief Current Revision Date: 01/10/2025 Section 101.003 Next Revision (1) Date: 01/10/2026 Page 3 of 7 factor in the appointment process. These vacant positions may be allowed for probationary assignments until a member is appointed. Members may bid for positions currently staffed by probationary members. However, members may not be transferred to these positions until probationary members have completed their probationary assignments. PROCESS • Probationary Members: Members who are on probation at the time of a transfer draw can bid for positions; however, they must finish probationary assignments prior to being transferred to the selected position. • Staff Position Assignments Draw : All attempts will be made to align the solicitation for administrative positions with the full transfer occurring every 2 years. Prior to conducting a full transfer draw , a solicitation will be held for all administrative assignments for the next 2-year period. If more than one member applies for an assignment, a competitive interview process will occur. The interview panel will consist of two members appointed by Fire Administration and one member appointed by Local 202. A 2-year commitment will be required of a member selected for an administrative position prior to this full transfer. A member who has fulfilled their 2-year commitment can choose to leave the administrative assignment at the time of a partial draw. Before vacating the assignment, the member must give reasonable time for the position to be filled and a transfer of responsibilities to occur. The time commitment for the newly selected member will be the remainder of the 2-year transfer. If at any time a member assigned to an administrative assignment has a hardship and would like to return to a field position, they may make a request to their supervisor and the request will be evaluated on a case-by -case basis. • Live Draw : Live-Transfer Draws are conducted for a Full Transfer. No later than one (1) month prior to the live draw, captains, engineers, and firefighters are given a deadline for modifications of their FD -44 forms. This deadline may be modified by agreement between Local 202 and Fire Administration. Members are advised of the location, date, time, and any special rules (e.g., on- duty members) related to the upcoming live draw. Effective Date: June 2008 Kirk Wanless, Battalion Chief Current Revision Date: 01/10/2025 Section 101.003 Next Revision (1) Date: 01/10/2026 Page 4 of 7 Prior to conducting a full transfer draw , Battalion Chiefs will conduct a seniority transfer draw, and the results will be posted prior to the live draw process. During the live draw, the following process is followed: a. Selection of available bids occurs in seniority order. Captains draw first, followed by Engineers and, lastly, Firefighters. The transfer process is completed for each rank in its entirety prior to proceeding to the next rank. As each selection is made, the member’s assignment is updated electronically and may be available for viewing through a pre-designated site. This allows all members the ability to access and follow the live- transfer draw process. b. Members present at the live draw select their draws in person. Members may choose to designate a proxy to draw for them in their absence. The member using a proxy will send an email to Fire.Transfers@fresno.gov prior to the start of the live draw designating the member who will be their proxy. c. Members who are on duty during the live draw will be contacted by phone. In the event an on-duty member is on an emergency call or unreachable by phone, the live draw is temporarily placed on hold until the member is contacted. d. If a member or their proxy is not present, the member’s FD - 44 will be used. If the member did not submit an FD-44 they will be skipped. The skipped member may be allowed to draw if they eventually make contact with the Live Draw . However, any draws that have been conducted already will not be altered. e. Once the live draw process has been completed, the draw results are prepared and special notice with the new assignments is posted. • Partial Transfer : Partial transfers are conducted when certain conditions occur or by agreement between Local 202 and Fire Administration. Conditions that may cause a partial transfer draw are: a. Retirements b. Separations Effective Date: June 2008 Kirk Wanless, Battalion Chief Current Revision Date: 01/10/2025 Section 101.003 Next Revision (1) Date: 01/10/2026 Page 5 of 7 c. Promotions and subsequent vacancies d. Adding a fire company e. Changes to staffing of existing companies The following procedure is used to conduct partial transfers: a. A special notice is issued to announce when vacancies occur. The notice should specify a deadline to submit Transfer Request forms (FD -44) for vacant positions. b. Vacant positions are filled by seniority in rank by referencing submitted Transfer Request forms (FD -44). c. Subsequent vacancies and positions available because of filling the initial vacancy are also filled by seniority in rank by referencing the FD - 44 forms. Subsequent vacant positions are filled simultaneously with the initial vacancy. d. Positions not applied for are filled by the lowest senior relief member in the rank. e. At the completion of the partial transfer draw all previously submitted FD-44 forms are to be considered invalid. Future announced vacancies require a new FD-44 form to be submitted. f. Every attempt is to be made to complete transfers to vacant and subsequent vacant positions within 90 days of the vacancy . g. A special notice is issued to indicate the results of the transfer process including the effective date of the transfer of members. • Transfer of Probationary Members: The Department transfers probationary members to assignments with the intent of providing challenging experiences that create opportunities for growth and evaluation. It is the Department’s objective to facilitate the probationary members’ growth and productivity by providing a suitable rating officer and a healthy work environment. There is no limitation to the number of assignments necessary to accomplish this objective during the probationary period of the member. Probationary members appointed to a specialty team may be Effective Date: June 2008 Kirk Wanless, Battalion Chief Current Revision Date: 01/10/2025 Section 101.003 Next Revision (1) Date: 01/10/2026 Page 6 of 7 assigned to a corresponding specialty station or relevant administrative assignment. • Probationary Assignment Guidelines: In an effort to meet the objective stated above, station selection is based on the following guidelines: a. Priority is given to companies with high call volume annually (determined by the annual report). b. Priority is given to two (2) company stations (engine and truck). c. Priority is given to companies staffed with four (4) members. d. Non-specialty team positions are utilized unless the probationary member is qualified for the specialty team assignment. e. The Engineer positions specifically designated to a specialty apparatus (i.e., HazMat Engineer and Rescue Engineer) are not eligible for probationary assignments. Members who have drawn these positions will not be displaced for probationary members. f. Firefighter One positions on apparatus with two firefighter positions are not eligible for probationary assignments. Members who have drawn these positions will not be displaced for probationary members. These positions may be utilized in extraordinary circumstances where the number of probationary Firefighters exceeds the number of available Firefighter 2 positions. g. Squads are not utilized for probationary assignments. In the event all companies with the above guidelines do not have room for probationary members, or an anomaly occurs requiring one or more spots to be skipped, probationary members may be assigned to other positions in seniority order. The companies that meet the above guidelines are identified via a special notice prior to a live draw. The special notice identifies eligible probationary assignments into groups for each rank. Seniority in rank is considered when placing probationary members into groups. Groups are filled in numerical order, when all positions in a group are filled, the next group is utilized. If an additional apparatus Effective Date: June 2008 Kirk Wanless, Battalion Chief Current Revision Date: 01/10/2025 Section 101.003 Next Revision (1) Date: 01/10/2026 Page 7 of 7 is opened a special notice is issued to identify apparatus availability for probationary assignments (prior to a draw being conducted). • Resolution of Disputes: Prior to initiating any formal complaint regarding the Administration of the transfer policy, members are encouraged to seek resolution of the complaint through discussion with the battalion chief in charge of transfers. INFORMATION This section intentionally left blank. DEFINITIONS This section intentionally left blank. CROSS-REFERENCES Current MOU between the City of Fresno and Local 202 Administrative Manual Section 104.002, Specialty Teams General Guidelines Section 106.052a, Transfer Request Form (FD-44A, FD -44B, FD -44C)