HomeMy WebLinkAbout[02] August Minutes
August 12, 2019
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Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Fire Board for the City of St. Joseph and Townships of St.
Joseph and St. Wendel met in regular session on Monday, August 12, 2019 at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph
Fire Hall.
Members Present: Fire Chief Jeff Taufen, City of St. Joseph Representative Bob Loso, St. Joseph
Township Representative Doug Fredrickson, St. Wendel Township Representative Greg Salk. City
Finance Director Lori Bartlett.
Others Present: Assistant Fire Chief David Salzer
Minutes: Loso made a motion to approve the minutes from March 5, 2019; seconded by Salk and
passed unanimously.
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Financial Report: Bartlett presented the 2 Quarter Financial Summary:
Revenues $ 170,259.10
Expenditures ($ 40,617.00)
Fund Balance $ 664,742.29
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Bartlett stated the 2 quarter finance report represents 51% of the budgeted revenues collected and 12%
of the budgeted expenditures have been expended. The main source of revenue is the quarterly
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jurisdiction payments, including the 3 quarter fire service contribution from St. Joseph Township.
Expenditures are operational in nature. The first half fire fighter wages were not paid until July 2019 and
will be included in the next reports.
Salk made a motion to approve the Financial Reports as presented; seconded by Fredrickson and
passed unanimously.
Preliminary 2020 Budget/Annexation Impact: Bartlett presented the preliminary 2020 budget along with
the impact of the 2019 City annexation of a portion of the St. Joseph Township. The draft operational
budget shows an increase of $13,235 mainly due to increases in fire fighter leadership salaries and
worker’s comp premiums. The pumper truck debt payment budget is lower by $785 for 2020. The capital
budget carries forward the budget finance of the same equipment as in previous budget cycles. The
2020 capital purchases are planned to be turnout gear, air packs, extrication equipment (if not purchased
in 2019), and continue the bid and specifications of the ladder truck replacement.
The 2020 budgeted amounts are as follows:
Revenues:
City of St. Joseph $ 140,390
St. Joseph Township $ 80,917
St. Wendel Township $ 60,558
Other Revenues $ 67,200
Total Revenues $ 349,065
Expenditures:
General Operations $ 145,685
Wages/Salaries $ 122,830
Capital $ 80,550
Total Expenditures $ 349,065
Bartlett presented an estimated breakout of the Estimated Market Values (EMV) for 2020 compared to
the previous four years. According to the adopted fire services contract, annexations include a tax
sharing mechanism with a declining contribution rate over a five year period for the lost EMV. The EMV
breakout includes two annexations affected by this provision; City of Waite Park annexation of a portion of
St. Joseph Township and City of St. Joseph annexation of a portion of St. Joseph Township.
The Waite Park annexation was completed in 2017 with an EMV of $33,839,000. The declining
contribution schedule is as follows:
2017 100% $ 33,839,000
2018 80% $ 27,071,000
2019 60% $ 20,303,400
August 12, 2019
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2020 40% $ 13,535,600
2021 20% $ 6,767,800
The St. Joseph annexation was completed in 2019 with an EMV of $55,461,800. The declining
contribution schedule is as follows:
2019 100% $ 55,461,800
2020 80% $ 44,369,440
2021 60% $ 33,277,080
2022 40% $ 22,184,720
2023 20% $ 11,092,360
The following 2020 EMV were used to determine the percentage of each jurisdictions’ responsibility for
the preliminary 2020 budget. The final EMV will be provided early January 2020 by Stearns County.
St. Joseph Township $ 153,500,500 20.84%
St. Joseph Township Waite Park Annexation $ 13,535,600 1.84%
St. Joseph Township St. Joseph Annexation $ 44,369,440 6.03%
St. Wendel Township $ 158,215,915 21.48%
City of St. Joseph $ 366,788,400 49.81%
The EMV allocation results in a budget allocation by community as follows:
St. Joseph Township $ 92,969.54
St. Wendel Township $ 69,578.41
City of St. Joseph $ 161,302.06
Loso made a motion to approve the 2020 preliminary budget and capital requests as presented.
The motion was seconded by Salk.
Aye: Loso, Salk Motion Carried: 2:1
Nay: Fredrickson members Loso and Salk.
Fredrickson voted no stating concerns the EMV is not calculated correctly. Fredrickson will work with
Stearns County to get a better understanding before the final budget is adopted.
State Fire Chiefs Convention: Taufen requested the Fire Board authorize the attendance of the Fire Chief
and Assistant Fire Chief to the annual State Fire Chiefs Convention as in the past. The 2019 Convention
will be held in Duluth, October 16-20. Salk made a motion to approve the reimbursement of two
firefighters to attend the Sate Fire Chiefs Convention in Duluth, October 16 to October 20. The
motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously.
Ladder #2 Update: Taufen updated the Fire Board on what options the truck committee is considering for
the next ladder truck to best fit the fire district. Some considerations are maneuverability to access taller
buildings in tight spaces, mutual aid trucks available, current and anticipated future heights of buildings.
The current thought is to stay with a single axel truck with a ladder height of 65’ to 100’. The committee
discussions are in the early stages. The committee estimates the cost to be in the $1.2 million range.
Grass Rig #3 Update: Taufen reported the Fire Department submitted a FEMA AFG federal grant to
replace the 1997 grass rig. Awardees will be announced in September 2019. The grant is a 95% match.
The estimated replacement cost is $140,000; putting the Fire Board’s cost around $7,000 (available in the
capital budget).
Officers Pay: Taufen requested the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief receive pay increases for 2020
(as included in the preliminary budget). The responsibilities have grown substantially and is getting more
difficult to keep up. The calls continue to increase with 425 reported in 2019. The requirements for
reporting have also increased. The last increase for the Fire Chief and Assistant was in 2008. Taufen
purposes increasing the salary for the Chief from $3,500 per year to $6,000 per year; the Assistant Chief
from $2,500 to $3,500 per year.
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In the future, Taufen suggested the Fire Board consider hiring a full time chief to meet the increasing
demands. The Fire Board requested Chief Taufen to provide duties of a full time fire chief to continue
discussions of the future of the Fire Department. The full time job description will need to be added to the
city council personnel committee to move forward also. Loso made a motion to increase the salaries
of the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief to $6,000 and $3,500 annually, respectively, beginning in
2020. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously.
ISO Report: The ISO is an insurance rating of the fire district based on response time, equipment
available, number of personnel, types of structures in the district and mutual aid availability, amongst
other measurements. The St. Joseph Fire Department is rated at 5/5X and close to getting to a 4 rating.
The lower the rating, the greater the discount on property owners’ insurance bill. Businesses and
residents looking to locate in the area look at the ISO rating as part of their community analysis.
Fredrickson requested the estimated dollar impact to a homeowner for moving the ISO rating from 5 to 4.
To move to an ISO 4 rating, a second pumper is needed. The report states the Fire District needs two
pumpers and at least one, and possibly two, ladder trucks. An option Chief Taufen suggested is keeping
the old ladder truck as a backup when the new truck is put into service in 2021. The Fire Board
discussed the need for the College of St. Benedict and the St. Benedict Monastery to assist in the cost of
the ladder truck since they have the tallest buildings needing the service.
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Membership: Taufen reported Rob Lyon resigned July 1 due to moving out of the Fire District. With the
resignation, the fire department is down to 27 fire fighters. The cost to hire a fire fighter is approximately
$5,000 for them to complete the following courses: First Responder, Fire Fighter 1, Fire Fighter 2 and
CDL w/Tanker License. The cost includes a full set of turnout gear once all classes completed and
license received. The Fire Department received two applications from Adam Scepaniak and Nathan
Madden. Both candidates were interviewed and passed the agility test. Loso made a motion to
approve hiring Adam Scepaniak and Nathan Madden, pending background checks and physical.
The motion was seconded by Fredrickson and passed unanimously. Loso made a motion to
approve leaving the applications open for another member to replace Rob Lyon. The motion was
seconded by Salk and passed unanimously.
Donation: Taufen reported a donation for a LUCUS machine was received from the St. Joseph Fire
Relief Association. The LUCUS machine performs compressions up to 45 minutes to someone not
breathing. Compressions are at a rate and depth needed for a heart attack victim. Loso made a motion
to accept the donation of a LUCUS machine valued at $14,821.87 from the St. Joseph Fire Relief
Association. The motion was seconded by Fredrickson and passed unanimously.
Fire Chiefs Report: Taufen reported a firefighter placed on suspension in January has been able to pass
his CDL license and now back on the fire department.
The Department has not heard if they were successful in securing funding for the new grass rig. The
grant is through AFG which funds 95% with a local match of 5%. The cost of the grass rig is
approximately $ 119,484.96. Notification of awardees will be received in September 2019.
The first six months of 2019 recorded 217 calls. If this continues, the year will end with about 480 calls.
The ladder truck committee will continue to meet to determine specifications and anticipated costs.
Other: Taufen provided the 2018 St. Joseph Fire Department Annual Report to the Fire Board.
Bartlett requested a change to the future Fire Board meetings. All Board members are not able to meet
on Wednesdays. The Fire Board agreed to meet the second Monday at 6:00pm of the following months:
February, May, August and November.
Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:15 PM; seconded by Salk and passed unanimously.
Lori Bartlett
Finance Director