(a) Established; membership.
(1) There is a County Fire and Emergency Services Commission, composed of 7 voting members appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council. Two members must be County career fire/rescue personnel, 2 members must be volunteer local fire and rescue department personnel, and 3 members must have no personal, family, or business connection with the County volunteer or career fire and emergency services. Each member must be a resident of the County. The members should reside in various geographic areas of the county and have a variety of occupational backgrounds.
(2) The Executive should appoint a person from a list of at least 5 volunteer local fire and rescue department personnel submitted by the LFRD representative each time the Executive appoints a member who must be a volunteer local fire and rescue department member. The Executive should appoint a person from a list of at least 5 career firefighters or rescuers submitted by organizations composed of career fire or rescue personnel each time the Executive appoints a member who must be a career firefighter or rescuer. If a list was submitted as provided in this paragraph and the Executive appoints a person whose name was not on that list to a Commission position reserved for a career firefighter or rescuer or volunteer local fire and rescue department member, the Executive must explain to the Council why no person on the list was selected. If the Executive requests a list under this paragraph from the appropriate organizations and does not receive a list of at least 5 candidates within 30 days, the Executive may appoint a qualified person without explaining why no person was selected from a list.
(3) The Fire Chief and any Division Chief are not eligible to serve on the Commission while holding that position.
(4) Each member serves a term of 3 years. A member must not serve more than 2 full terms, not counting any portion of an unexpired term, unless the Executive cites an extraordinary reason to reappoint the member for one or more additional terms. Each term begins August 1. A member serves until the member’s successor is confirmed.
(5) The Commission annually must designate one of its public members as chair and another public member as vice-chair. The vice-chair serves as chair in the absence of the chair.
(b) Vacancy. Any vacancy on the Commission must be filled as provided in subsection (a). If in the case of an unscheduled vacancy the Executive requests a list under subsection (a) from the appropriate organizations and does not receive a list of at least 5 candidates within 15 days, the Executive may appoint a qualified person without explaining why no person was selected from a list. A replacement member serves for the remainder of the original term.
(c) Compensation. A Commission member is not entitled to compensation for service on the Commission. Each Commission member must be reimbursed for reasonable travel and dependent care expenses, as appropriated in the operating budget.
(d) Duties, responsibilities and authority.
(1) The Commission must recommend how the County can:
(A) achieve and maintain effective, efficient, and equitable fire, rescue, and emergency medical services County-wide, and
(B) improve the policy, planning, and regulatory framework for all fire, rescue and emergency services operations.
(2) The Commission must meet at least monthly, and may meet at other times at the call of the chair or a majority of its members.
(3) The Commission, in addition to any other functions assigned by law or regulation, may:
(A) advise the Fire Chief, County Executive, and County Council on any matter relating to fire, rescue and emergency medical services, and review the performance of the County Fire and Rescue Service and any action taken or policy adopted by the Service;
(B) advise the Chief, Executive, and Council on County-wide policies, standards, procedures, plans, and programs that should apply to all fire, rescue, and emergency services operations;
(C) review and make recommendations regarding the master plan for fire, rescue, and emergency medical services as provided in Section 21-12;
(D) recommend and comment on legislation, regulations, and policies that apply to or affect the Fire and Rescue Service;
(E) review and recommend any appropriate changes in communications and dispatch procedures for emergency communications centers;
(F) recommend guidelines for curriculum and programs of the Public Safety Training Academy and other training programs for fire and emergency services employees and volunteers;
(G) recommend to the Chief, Executive, and Council a benefits program to provide financial protection for volunteers and their families if a volunteer becomes injured, disabled, or dies in the line of duty;
(H) after consulting the LFRD representative, recommend to the Chief, Executive, and Council policies and programs to recruit and retain volunteers; and
(I) promote coordination with other County-wide, regional, state, and national emergency management agencies and activities.
(4) The Commission must review and may approve or disapprove any generally applicable Fire and Rescue Service policy or regulation proposed by the Fire Chief, including any regulation that may be issued by the Executive under this Chapter. Before taking any action under this paragraph, the Commission must give the Fire Chief, LFRD representative, employee organization, and the public a reasonable opportunity to comment. If the Commission does not approve or disapprove a proposed policy within 60 days after receiving it from the Chief, the policy is automatically approved. If the Commission does not approve or disapprove a proposed regulation within 60 days after receiving it from the Chief, the regulation is automatically transmitted to the Executive for review. This paragraph does not apply to:
(A) any decision expressly assigned to another person or body by this Chapter; or
(B) any individual personnel action.
(e) Meeting with Executive. The Commission must meet with the Executive or the Chief Administrative Officer periodically to discuss matters under the Commission’s purview.
(f) Annual report. The Commission must forward to the Executive and Council an annual report describing Commission recommendations and activities.
(g) Removal. The Executive, with the approval of the Council, may remove any Commission member for cause.
(h) Advocacy. The Commission must not engage in any advocacy activity at the State or federal levels unless that activity is approved by the Office of Intergovernmental Relations. (1980 L.M.C., ch. 64 § 3; 1982 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 3; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 22; 1987 L.M.C., ch. 42, § 1; 1988 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 3; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2009 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1; 2017 L.M.C., ch. 12, §1.)
(b) Any reference in any law, regulation, or Fire and Rescue Service policy to the Fire and Rescue Commission must be treated as referring to the Fire and Emergency Services Commission created under Section 21-2, as amended by Section 1 of this Act, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(c) In initially appointing the Fire and Emergency Services Commission under Section 21-2, the Executive must designate one career and one volunteer appointee to serve one year initial terms, one career appointee to serve a 2 year initial term, and one volunteer appointee to serve a 3 year initial term, and one member of the public to serve a term of one year, one to serve a term of 2 years, and one to serve a term of 3 years.
Section 21-2, formerly § 21-4B, was renumbered and amended pursuant to 1998 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1.
The above section is cited in Lofland v. Montgomery County, et.al., 319 Md. 265, 572 A.2d 163.
Cross reference—Boards and commissions generally, § 2-141 et seq.