Governors and BFPD

Belmont does not have a governor, but it does have a city council and mayor.  The city council absolutely has the power to make an impact on my community partner’s operations.  The city council was voted to split the San Carlos Belmont Fire Department up in the first place.  Furthermore, the Belmont city council ultimately decided if the city was going to have a stand-alone fire protection district or if it was going to outsource.  The City of Belmont has a weak-mayor system, so Mayor Wozniak does not soley get to make decisions that affect the BFPD.  The entire city council has to decide on the issues as a unit.  Ultimately, when there is an important decision to be made, the fire department will go to the city council meetings on Tuesday night and speak during the “public comments/concerns” portion of the night.  The fire chief’s urge the firefighters to participate in the community meetings so that their voices can be heard.  Belmont is such a small community that group like the BFPD can always be heard.  It would be much more complex for the San Francisco Fire Department to get their voices heard or make a change.  Even presenting a concern is time consuming and tedious in a large city.  Belmont has the luxury of intimate interaction among the community actors.