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City received the “Life Safety Achievement Award” in 2014, from Grinnell Mutual, National
Association of State Fire Marshals and the Residential Fire Safety Institute for outstanding fire
safety statistics, including zero fire deaths, and effective fire prevention programs in 2013.
Our success is not without the acknowledgement of some future challenges. 2016 saw a 10
percent higher number of community requests for services for police when compared to a prior
three year average. Also, the impacts of recent state-wide sentencing reform are unknown;
however, the perceived preliminary impacts of Proposition 47 on Morgan Hill and other
communities are of concern. Maintaining a safe community will require the continued ability of
our officers to have the adequate time to be proactive in their vital efforts to abate crime.
Despite the decline in structural fires nationally, fire department responses have nearly tripled in
the last 30 years. (11.8 Million in 1985 and 33.6 million in 2015). While we do not have
available data specific to the last 30 years for Morgan Hill, we have seen an increase since 2013
in the number of reported incidents for service in the City. In 2013, per dispatch data, 2,786
incidents were created while in 2015, 3,414 incidents were created. A 22 percent increase in just
two years. This trend seems to continue per dispatch records as the City had 3,657 incidents
created in 2016 (31 percent increase since 2013). While the City has remained effective and
continues to meet our established benchmarks, it is obvious that fire department requests have
increased. This affects resource availability, and allocation of firefighter time from other duties
that have an direct impact on fire protection and emergency medical services to maintain our safe
community. An example of some proactive and prevention duties include training, inspections,
and public education.
We look forward to presenting further PSMP details, answering your questions, and receiving
further direction as needed at the February 22
nd
Council Meeting
Sincerely,
Steve Rymer
David Swing
Derek Witmer
City Manager
Chief of Police
Fire Chief