Council approves CAL FIRE Schedule A agreement; implementation will phase in 3-platoon staffing

The Yucaipa City Council voted to approve a Schedule A agreement with CAL FIRE that will take effect July 1, 2025. The contract formalizes a statewide staffing change CAL FIRE is implementing and establishes a phased transition to three-platoon staffing at local CAL FIRE units providing city fire and paramedic services.

Chief Malinowski and city staff explained the operational change to council: the three-platoon model uses 56-hour work weeks and three rotating crews to provide consistent daily coverage and reduce forced overtime. City staff said the change does not increase daily minimum on-duty personnel for Yucaipa — the department will continue to ensure 10 city-funded fire personnel are available each day — but will alter crew scheduling to reduce frequent overtime backfill and provide greater depth of available staff to meet minimum daily staffing needs.

Staff described this as a statewide CAL FIRE directive for units operating under Schedule A agreements. The contract language reflects a fully burdened, top-step calculation on paper but city staff emphasized that the city bills actual costs and will phase in the staffing changes over multiple fiscal years. Staff made clear the agreement would be implemented in phases and that the city’s FY 2025–26 budget already reflects the first-year adoption of the new staffing approach.

Council and staff discussed operational details and fiscal management strategies. Staff noted the schedule shows a maximum possible cost if all positions were budgeted at top-step wages on day one; historically the city budgets conservatively and actual annual costs tend to come in below that maximum. The chief said the three-platoon model increases the pool of available firefighters and reduces reliance on forced overtime, which he described as a more stable approach to meeting minimum daily staffing and responding to incidents.

The council approved a motion to authorize the interim city manager to execute the Schedule A agreement. Staff will manage the phased implementation and return to council with budget adjustments and updates as needed.