Frenchtown Rural Fire District Agenda for Special Board Meeting

Transcription

1 Frenchtown Rural Fire District Agenda for Special Board Meeting Time: 6:00 p.m. Date: April 7, 2008 Place: Station 1 Call To Order: 18:00 Roll Call: Tom Mahlum, Harlan Ockler, Dan Pattee, Mitchell Hicks, Dee Woods Scott Waldron, Steve Roy, Cindy Crittendon, Adriane Miller, Jim Burdick, Marty Meeks, Kylee Hatfield Pledge of Allegiance New Business Motion to adjourn at 18:01 to executive session at made by Dan Pattee and seconded by Dee Woods. All in Favor ~ Personnel Evaluations Executive Session Motion to resume public meeting at 20:35 made by Harlan Ockler and seconded by Dee Woods. All in Favor FY 07 and FY 08 One time payment Chief Waldron discussed with the Board their decision to reimburse to the employees (except the Chief) some Social Security refunds that will be received from the County. This payment was part of the employee salary adjustments from last year. The County is slow on getting the Social Security refund back from the Public Employee Retirement System. The Chief recommended paying the employees the $600 approved in this fiscal year and wait for the monies to be refunded to the department so that we can close out the fiscal year. No Public Comment Harlan Ockler asked if this was just simple bookkeeping that FRFD would eventually get the money back from the County. Chief Waldron stated that yes, it is just simple bookkeeping and we do anticipate the money back from the County. Harlan Ockler made a motion to pay the employees the $600 that will be refunded to the department from the Social Security Administration. Dan Pattee seconded. All in favor. FY 08 and FY 09 Cost of Living Adjustment Chief Waldron discussed with the Board the average cost of living index in Western Montana was between 3.7% and 4.3%. Chief Waldron presented the Board with a spreadsheet for reference on the cost of a 4.0% cost of living increase for the staff at FRFD. Tom Mahlum asked when those indexes were compiled. Chief Waldron replied that the percentages were compiled on Saturday, April 5, Public Comment: John Appelt wanted comment on record and commented this is not directed toward the volunteer firefighters of Frenchtown Rural Fire. Against any increase of cost of living or pay raises for any paid personnel of Frenchtown Volunteer Fire Department. Based on the current conditions of the Country, only proper that the Hired Help bite the bullet with the rest of us. Bruce Winter stated that he went to National Fire Academy in Maryland. Every Volunteer fire department is having problems getting volunteers. Bedroom communities are places where people eat and sleep and not work. People don t want to volunteer. Ideas on how to

2 get volunteers spend a lot of money to get new equipment so people can use the new trucks and equipment. Or, have a professional grade fire department while maintaining volunteer status. Need people who do the homework and do the training and bring it back to the volunteers. In Maryland, people were asking how to emulate Frenchtown Fire because it is known as one of the best fire departments in the Country. The Chief and staff insist that this fire department are the best trained. People want to come in because of the staff. People saw professionalism on the Black Cat fire and started to volunteer and want to be a part of this department. Staff is the best in the Country they are asking for a 4% increase. He is willing to pay the increase because the best people in the Country are going to respond to his home. I want professionals. Bob Thornberg stated that he would like to back up the statements of Mr. Winter. He has been in the district since 1941 and believes that the volunteer fire department needs staff and leadership. As far as a pay increase, it is pretty minor. It is bigger than his Social Security increase but it is minor and this is a very good organization. Commend Staff and Volunteers and other departments for their hard work and the good job on the Black Cat. He thinks we are splitting pennies to save a nickel someplace and he would go with an increase. Paul Giselski asked when the last COLA was. Chief Waldron responded that it was last year and an increase of 3.2%. Agrees with the comments of the other people that the staff is doing a good job. Thinks COLA of 4% is a little high. In the private sector, COLA is about 2 ½ %. He doesn t think it should be that low for Frenchtown but a 4% is just a little bit high. Mitchell Hicks stated it is not how good the fire fighters are. With the economy like it is, we are all suffering. This will not take effect until June or July and we should have the cost of living discussion wait until June or July. We are looking at impact fees, cost of living raise, cost of salary raise, he can t stomach this. I am not voting for it, I just can t see it. Harlan stated that impact fees cost the developer. Mitchell responded it is a tax. Tom Mahlum stated that the vote tonight for the COLA takes effect July 1 in the new fiscal year. Mitchell stated it has not been discussed where the money will come from. Salary and cost of living will cost an additional $26,000 per year and with the economy the way it is he can t see it. Dan stated one of the problems we have is that we have and want to keep good people. One of the ways we can do that is by paying them to stay here. He works for the school district and those same taxes pay for his wage. He stated 4% is not a lot. The staff has to afford to live here, too. Their taxes are going to go up the same as ours. He doesn t see any reason why not to give them the increase. Harlan stated the job description doesn t include how much they do. We are getting more value than the cost of the staff members. He doesn t have a problem with the 4%. We are underpaying them greatly even if you take them item for item and occupation for occupation. They are not getting paid the same as the firefighters in Missoula. Yes, they could move to Missoula, but they like it here. They are well trained and if it costs him a couple extra bucks, he am willing to pay it. The majority of our business is transportation. He is concerned about the rising cost. Am I concerned about $100 to protect my family and have trained people respond to our house in an emergency you bet. But I am willing to pay it because the staff is trained well and they do a good job and we are getting them for a bargain. Dee Woods stated that she agrees with everything Harlan said. She stated that Cindy Crittendon does Mitigation so part of her salary is paid by a grant. These people are not only firefighters. They don t just sit in a station waiting for a call. Cindy does Mitigation and Prevention, Marty takes care of all the vehicles and Jim is the EMS coordinator and teaches EMT classes. Last year the majority of the staff passed their ALS certification and to her, that is a lot. These employees train our volunteers so she doesn t have a problem with giving them a raise. To her, it is a small pittance for the service we are getting. They risk their lives for you.

3 Tom Mahlum stated that the Board had just spent 2 ½ hours in evaluations with the staff. He is thankful for the qualified staff we have in this district. Everyone is getting a little older and we need these qualified services a little more. We are all taxpayers and we all live here in the district. He agrees that the cost of living is a big deal. But, we have one of the best assets in the state of Montana and the salaries that we are paying our staff are very low compared to Missoula City and Rural, we are very fortunate not have turnover. Harlan stated he wants input from the Community because they are representing the people. In all fairness, you have to communicate your desires to your board members so that can vote for you. There needs to be a majority opinion. Not all decisions are going to go the way you want all the time. The Board would like to encourage people to call them and talk to them. Mitchell stated there were 15 or 20 people in the audience and only 3 stood up to say something. If only we could get a small portion of the people to stand up. Mitchell was informed that public comment is closed. Harlan Ockler made a motion to increase the Staff wages a 4% Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Steve, Cindy, Adriane, Marty, Kylee, Jim, and Nate. Dan Pattee seconded. Dee Woods, Dan Pattee, Harlan Ockler, Tom Mahlum in favor. Mitchell Hicks Opposes. Motion passed. FY 08 and FY 09 Salary Adjustment Chief Waldron stated that a year ago, five of the staff members came to the Board with a proposal to achieve parity with other fire fighters in the state of Montana. The overall plan was to increase the wages 21% over a three year period to be more in line with other salaries. This is excluding the Chief, Operations Chief and the Administrative Assistant. We recognize everyone is struggling. Our firefighters have to live within the district and pay the same housing costs that the rest of the residents in the district have to pay. Our firefighters have multiple roles within the fire district. They are not just firefighters. Cindy does Mitigation and Prevention programs, Marty does all the Vehicle repairs, Jim is EMS training and ambulance program, Steve oversees all the operations in the district, Adriane is the volunteer coordinator. All these people respond in addition to their regular jobs. These employees don t just come in and wait for a call like they do in other departments. The responsibility of staff is very high and they work with all the volunteers. Retention of staff is very important because it is very expensive to hire new employees. The staff are facing just as many challenges of living in this district, as was mentioned in the staff evaluation. Turnover is expensive. IT takes years to get our employees to where they are at. We start our employees at $28,000. After a probationary period, they get to what we consider to be a Captain status. At that point ($32,000), they are still well below the average of $43,000. Within our area, they are the lowest paid group of employees in this category. A truck driver county road department and a county Sheriff makes at least $2 more an hour than our employees. A Frenchtown School teacher who works 187 days a year makes $25 and our employees work 365 days a year 7 days a week 24 hours a day. The maintenance supervisor person at the high school who has only been there for a year makes $23 per hour. The maintenance supervisor Elementary makes $19. Alberton school district teachers have a short year and they make about $25 per hour. When comparing to Forest Service like Nine Mile National Forest Service. All of our personnel are Engine Boss qualified or higher make $17 to $23 an hour. Comparative salaries show that our employees are underpaid. The program the staff presented to the Board last year and the Board adjusts the salary on a periodic basis is the right thing to do for the staff and the right thing to do for the community. We have to recognize our employees are an excellent value and we can fund this increase out of the General Fund. The Staff has asked for a 7% adjustment. Their salary is 27% below their peers last year and they received a 5.2% increase last year. This doesn t include the Chief, Operations Chief or the Administrative Assistant.

4 Public Comment: Glenn Green stated that the comparisons to the school is not comparing apples to apples. You are comparing wages here to wages of professionals who have had years and years and years of training. The volunteers have had a lot of training but comparison to somebody else is not an equal comparison. You are comparing Frenchtown to districts that have much huger populations than we are. It is a lot more burden to bear in a population of 6,000 people. Glen asked about the COLA and 7% increase. He stated that it is an 11% increase for the staff. Tom Mahlum responded that yes, there were two increases COLA at 4% and an additional 7% Parity increase. Glen stated he would love to have an 11% increase. We are a small area and volunteers do an excellent job. He stated that for the area we are in, an 11% increase is big. He thinks it is high. Jim Burdick got the feeling that people are saying the staff is not professional. Almost all the staff have college degrees. He was in the military and worked as a firefighter EMT for three years before he came here. If you want to compare apples to apples, Missoula City hires employees right out of high school with no experience, no training and no college degree. They don t come in when they are not supposed to come in and they have the ability to leave work at work and live anywhere they want. The volunteer ranks are dwindling and the awesome group we have now is not going to last forever. Talking about retention and recruitment, this district is going to lose out in money and qualified personnel. Glen Green stated he is not questioning the professionalism of the staff or volunteers. He stated he is talking about the 11% raise at this time in this place. In the fire service you are constantly training. He said this district is being compared with the other areas Central Valley has 32,000 people and a salary increase has a lower impact on each individual person. When making comments to the Board, you need to follow open meeting laws and last year people in the past stood at a pulpit and he doesn t want to get back there. 7% increase for salary increase for people who are doing a good job and meeting expectations and met the goals at the end of the year, that is on thing. But a COLA of 4% just because the cost of things went up, he agrees with Mitchell. He understands comments on Board needing more information glad to see Harlan stating he is willing to accept calls to which Harlan responded he is always glad to do that. Bob Thornberg stated we are trying to compare FRFD to another fire department. Compare your EMT to someone operating an ambulance in another place. You will find that you are way underpaid for the work you are doing. EMT s can do their job and get back and then they are done. These fire departments have become more of an emergency response unit and not just fire fighters. He questioned how many accidents we respond to on the interstate? It is not just the 6,000 people who live here it is the highway and interstate we respond to as well. The only way you can keep qualified people and keep volunteers coming is to give them a reasonable wage. He is not one to spend money but he doesn t see turning down issues like the general public has been doing for the fire department and passing them all for the Schools. It is a growth issue. He believes that if the school gets a bond issue, the fire department should get a corresponding one. He is in favor of an increase. He is not sure what the dollar figure is for 7% but he is definitely for an increase and he believes you should give people something to work for and thank them for the various things they do. The other fire and police departments he works with don t spend 24 hours on the job. He believes the staff is already underpaid and would go for an increase. Jolene Sayler stated that Mr. Hicks wanted them to come out and speak their opinion. 11% is tough for her to afford her taxes. The school bond and the tax increase already hurt and she would love to give the staff more but it is going to hurt. She stated that the salary is pretty good. Maybe a little increase but 11% - she doesn t know how she can afford it. Bruce Winter stated the tax base is what we pay. Just because we vote for an 11% increase doesn t mean our taxes will go up. But at this point in time, there is not guarantee that our taxes will go up. It is just a pay increase we are taking it from somewhere else. It is not

5 directly coming out of our tax dollars. Maybe only a dozen that have been a volunteer with this department for 5 years or more so there is little experience. The experience is with the staff. The only way we can keep training our volunteers is to keep quality staff. Even with a 2 to 3 year turnaround on volunteers, we still maintain our professionalism. There are a bunch of people out there who are talking about spending too much money. Bruce suggested that those people should put on a pair of turnouts and volunteer and save the taxpayers money instead of complaining about how much it costs the tax payers. Jolene asked where the department was cutting back to get the 11% increase. Chief Waldron responded that House Bill 124 is where we receive some of our funding from. People s taxes increased last year because the taxable valuation for the Mill went down. We have Wild Land Revenue non tax revenue that the department uses to fund purchases. Jolene stated she cannot volunteer because she has too many other things going on. She supports the department 100%. Dee Woods thanked Jolene for her comments and requests for more information. Chief Waldron stated that the Board would have to approve a tax increase and any budget changes. We postpone purchases until we have the money to purchase items and we try to use non tax revenue. Chief Waldron also stated that there are more restrictions on our employees than those in other departments. There is not a strong demographic base for daytime volunteer response. We recruit continually but there just isn t a strong volunteer base to draw from. Missoula Rural just floated a 1.5 Million dollar bond for new employees. We are still significantly lower than them. We are unable to compare salaries to any other departments in Montana because there aren t any other paid departments than what is on the list. Nick Vernon stated that he is a volunteer and the staff is excellent on instruction. He thanks the staff and stated the Fire department can pay for things with money or things with lives. Tieing the hands of the fire department will force you to pay for things with lives. Troy Monroe stated he has been a volunteer for over 5 years. The residents depend on the few volunteers that have enough experience to manage structure or wild land fires. Most of them would not risk their lives without the support of the career staff. The daytime response is slim. Every night there is a staff member to respond. Now, callers don t have to wait for an ALS provider to come to their home which could be upwards of a thirty minute response time if coming from Missoula because the staff members have their ALS certifications. The paid staff here at Frenchtown is the best in the state. Tim Philippi stated that he feels the fire fighters do a marvelous job. Stated he did not know about the meeting. The posting was only three inches tall and the community doesn t know when these meetings are. He feels the meetings are being moved and not publicized so people don t know when the meetings are. He would like to hire more people and give people an 11% raise. Dee Woods asked what would be a way to better inform the public about meetings. What is an example how we can better publicize. Tim Phillippi told the Board that you could put a sign up in front of the school or a billboard in front of Bronc s. Dee stated it was the special board meetings that were causing people problems. Public comment of being in the Military and his largest increase was only 5.3% and averaged about 2.5%. People are getting taxed out of their homes. He can see an overall of around a 7% increase. Randy Morgan stated it would be great to get paid enough to live where you work. 11% increase puts a drain on the community and is exorbitant almost to a point of being obscene.

6 Ed Weaver hate and discontent in the community dissuades volunteerism. Doesn t have a beef with the 4% COLA. He does believe the paid personnel and volunteers have perks. He appreciates what you do. 11% is way out of line. You deserve it but he doesn t think we can afford it. We have to live within our means. Bob Thornberg said people are saying they are not getting a lot of correspondence. He has found that communication is a two way thing. Not comfortable with dumping it on the Board. People need to take charge and find out for themselves what is happening. It is the communities responsibility to find out what is going on. It can be overcome with paper publishing or flyers and people should their responsibility. John Appelt suggested the Board table the proposal until June if it is not going into effect until July? We are going to have an election in May and those changes will be brought about by a vote of the majority of the people. You people have been elected to support us. We should see what happens in this next election. Tom Mahlum asked the Chief to explain where the money will come from. Chief Waldron responded that this has nothing to do with a mill levy. The intent is to try to bring the staff fire fighters to some semblance of parity with the other paid departments. These five people are the lowest paid for the job they do. The Chief has provided the info to the Board and it is up to the Board to decide. Mitchell Hicks made a motion to table the salary increase until June. No one seconded. Motion failed. Harlan Ockler made a motion to increase staff salaries 7%. Mitchell Hicks seconded. Mitchell stated he wanted the public would like to know what Chief Waldron s salary is. Chief Waldron stated his salary is available. Mitchell stated he wanted the public to know what the employees were making. Facilities Maintenance $33,600, Apparatus Maintenance $34,636, EMS Coordinator $34,636, Volunteer Coordinator $35,873, Prevention Specialist $36,143. These are the off probation salaries. Mitchell asked if these salaries include benefits. Chief Waldron responded that these salaries do not include benefits, just like any other salary employee there is a benefit package approximately 27%. Mitchell stated you can make your own assumption as to what is the right thing to do. Mitchell was told that public comment was closed and he was in Board Comment and needed to make his comments to the Board. Mitchell stated there was a lot of public comment. He said 11% is way out of line. If the economy was good and everyone is fat and happy probably would not be an issue. Lots of comments about pricing us out of our homes. His wife is an RN and she only makes $29 per hour. He said we are not comparing apples to apples. Trust me if we had the money, I would give you 11%. It has nothing to do with a school superintendent. These are Alberton salaries and not a comparison. Luckily, this is not going to increase your tax base yet. Thankfully, we have these wild land fires. We are looking at $26,000 increase. Where is it going to come from. I served my time. I was a volunteer. He is hearing go out and volunteer. I paid my dues and I am volunteering as a board member now. I am against this much of a raise. I think the Board should make some kind of adjustment.

7 Harlan Ockler asked if there was Social Security money coming back next year after the transfer from PERS to FURS. Chief Waldron stated it is our money but we don t know when it is coming. He believed it might be approximately &60,000. Dee asked out of the $60,000, we are talking about $3,600 - $600 by 6 people? Chief stated that is correct but we don t have that money in hand yet. Chief Waldron stated there are wild land revenues and line item adjustments and increasing our cash reserves. Dee asked if the Board chose to lower the adjustment, could we do a one time figure? Chief Waldron responded that the county is dealing with the Union and an adjustment to the base. Dan Pattee asked if Dee was proposing a one time fee and Dee responded that would be a way to not increase their salaries. Harlan and Dan both commented that this would get them closer in line. Dan stated the reason for the process was to try and get the staff in line with other firefighters in the state. He said we have a volunteer department supported by paid staff and that seems to work very well. He stated there was a three year plan to get the staff on par with other paid departments in the state. He stated he has seen Missoula Rural volunteers leave. Dee Woods stated this is a one time adjustment. Dan Pattee stated Harlan made a motion for 7% raise for the staff and Mitchell Hicks seconded. Mitchell responded that he never seconded that motion. Tom Mahlum stated yes, he had seconded the 7% raise for staff member. Tom Mahlum stated if the Board wanted to do a partial % increase and a one time payment to the staff, a new motion would have to be made. Dee stated she wanted to give a lower percentage of a 5 % increase and a one time payment of $750 for the Volunteer Coordinator, Prevention Specialist, Facilities and Vehicle Maintenance and the EMS Coordinator. Scott stated he did not want to earmark the Social Security refund because we have not gotten that money yet. He stated there is the wild land monies that it could come out of. The $750 each comes to $3,750. Harlan amended the motion to pay the five staff members a 5% salary increase plus a $750 one time payment out of the Wild Land Fire Revenue. Dan Pattee seconded. Dee Woods, Dan Pattee, Harlan Ockler and Tom Mahlum in favor. Mitchell Hicks Opposes. Motion Passed. Mitchell stated the Board was just trying to make it look good on paper going from an 11% increase to a 9% salary increase. Mitchell stated my motion is to shelve this until June. Why can t we wait until June. Chief Waldron stated that this would not take effect until July 1, 2008 Chief Waldron responded that he had included a 2% merit increase for Kylee Hatfield and for Steve Roy. Steve s increase would be $1, and Kylee s increase would be $ in one year. Public Comment: Bruce Winter would like to stand by his comments. These two people go above and beyond what is expected of them. To give them lower is an insult to them.

8 Scott stated their salary ranges are different than the other staff because they are close to parity with other people in their position. Mitchell stated he is against paying more. Kylee is well paid and he doesn t think any kind of a raise, I would not support. Dan Pattee made a motion to increase both Steve and Kylee s salaries 2% merit. Harlan Ockler seconded. Dee Woods, Dan Pattee, Tom Mahlum and Harlan Ockler in favor. Mitchell Hicks opposes. Motion passed. Dee Woods made a motion to increase the Chief s salary 2% ($1,376.80) per year. Public Comment: Bob Thornberg stated 2% is cheap for the chief. Just grant work alone is probably worth about $40,000 so we are getting him for a bargain. Bruce Winter stated his son is a paramedic and makes two times as much as the Chief makes. Chief deserves all the support we can give him. Glenn Green stated he was in agreement and he would like a 2% increase. He stated a lot of people are not getting an increase at all. John Appelt stated that the Board is consistent with the exception of Mitchell. Thanks a lot. Mitchell stated 2% isn t a lot but his base is $68,000 is a lot. Throw in all the benefits and the vehicle you drive for pleasure, Wild Land fire income gives you over $100,000 a year. Scott Waldron responded that he has a vehicle to respond 24/7. Harlan Ockler made a motion to increase Chief Waldron s salary 2%. Dan Pattee Seconded. Dan Pattee, Harlan Ockler, Dee Woods, Tom Mahlum in favor. Mitchell Hicks opposes. Motion Passes Good of the Order Regular Board Meeting Monday, April 14 at 7:00 pm at station 1 Please give Administrative Assistant addresses so you can receive notices of meetings. Adjournment Dee Woods made a motion to adjourn at 22:32. Dan Pattee seconded. All in favor.