As part of my continued commitment to make the decisions made in CFA more transparent, this is my latest monthly recap of meetings held at executive level.
At the June Board meeting, we noted the announcement by Chief Officer Euan Ferguson that he won’t be seeking to renew his contract with CFA when it expires in November. We’re extremely grateful to Euan for his contribution to CFA and the leadership he has displayed during his five years in the role. The Board will now take steps to begin a targeted recruitment process for the position.
The Board was joined by Independent Monitor for Fiskville Kieran Walshe to discuss his draft report. Mr Walshe’s role is to review our progress in carrying out the recommendations and initiatives we committed to as part of our response to the Joy Report. The Board sought some additional information regarding the report which we hope to finalise shortly.
The CFA Plan 2015-16 and CFA Budget 2015-16 were both approved by the Board this month and will soon be distributed to staff. Some minor changes were made by the Board to the annual CFA Plan, which sets out our priorities over the next 12 months and is developed in conjunction with CFA’s government commitments and the emergency services sector. A clear timeline of the Plan’s key initiatives will now be prepared for the July meeting.
At the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) meetings held throughout June, regular updates were provided on the realignment of our corporate structure. The directorates of F&EM, OT&V and Financial Services are being realigned concurrently, which should speed up the process and deliver more opportunities for staff. We hope to have this process completed in coming months. Meanwhile we confirmed ongoing funding in the budget for our work in Community Preparedness. There hasn’t been a secure funding source previously, with finances allocated annually.
As managers of CFA we recognise that strong leadership has an important influence on organisational outcomes. And so this month we kicked off the inaugural Enabling Leadership Program, developed in response to our organisational culture survey to strengthen the ability of our leaders. More than 60 people from senior management positions across the organisation have been selected to take part in the 12-month program. We were interested to hear feedback on the program during ELT meetings.
The approval requirements for proposed uses of the Strategic Initiatives Fund (SIF) were also discussed by ELT. We use SIF to finance small projects each financial year. ELT has agreed it should be responsible for final approval for these projects.
Updates on a number of operational issues were also presented to ELT, including member uniforms and our Foam Replacement Program.
The CFA Uniform Position Discussion Paper was put forward earlier this year seeking feedback on the future supply of uniforms. A survey was also circulated and more than 800 responses received. After reviewing this feedback we’ve agreed on a preferred option and once funding is determined the final position will be announced.
Agreement was also reached that CFA’s Foam Replacement Program is to be carried out this financial year. This project will deliver improved Class B Foam across all of CFA’s locations.
Regards,
Michael Wootten
CEO
Author: Michael Wootten