Lively High Country Fire Protection District meeting
Public spars with Board of Directors
Public Comment time was lively at High Country Fire Protection District’s (HCFPD) Board of Directors meeting on November 18, 2009, even when it wasn’t Public Comment time. Directors Paul Britton, Roger Durham, Brian Lesher and John Rittenhouse were at the table. Britton announced that Director Robb Kambic had sent word he’d be absent due to work obligations. The Board was joined at the table by their attorney Mark Cohen, Fire Chief Richard Bulich and Business Manager Shelia Kambic. Administrative Assistant Gary Gain took the minutes.
Public Comment
HCFPD firefighter David Halterman asked attorney Cohen if the Board should be recording the meetings per Colorado Statute 24-6-402 which requires local public bodies that recorded minutes after August 1, 2001 to continue recording them. The public can then listen at a later date, via the recordings. HCFPD had taped meetings earlier this year but does not currently tape for public access. Cohen said he would check with the Special District Association (SDA) for a final answer on whether HCFPD must revert to recording.
HCFPD firefighter John Carder told the Board he had a Power Point presentation demonstrating the benefit of HCFPD paying an additional 30% of the costs to merge with Colorado Sierra Fire Protection District (CSFPD). Carder had not requested time on the agenda prior to the meeting and the agenda was already full with regular business plus executive sessions. The Board asked him to present his information orally, which he did, summarized here. The figures used are from a draft of the budget and are not final. Parentheses indicate information added by this reporter:
HCFPD 2008 revenues totaled $656,117; CSFPD 2008 revenues, $127,000 ($127,369).
Total cost of the merger is estimated at $78,000 to be split 50/50 per the original agreement, approved by HCFPD (and CSFPD). CSFPD’s request is for HCFPD to pay $62,400 (80%) and CSFPD to pay 20% ($15,600).
HCFPD can afford to pay the additional $23,400 and should, as CSFPD has more than tripled their number of responses since the two departments began working together under this year’s Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) and the “Timberline” name. CSFPD’s operating costs have gone up accordingly, and approximately two-thirds of the calls have been within HCFPD’s area. HCFPD needs to pay it’s fair share.
Merging would eliminate duplication of some costs (accounting/auditing, insurance, legal fees and Fire and Police Pension Association (FPPA) fees.
Finally, Carder tallied up the administrative spending noting the Business Manager’s salary had gone from $33,363 in 2007 to $59,395 on the 2010 Draft Budget. That’s a 78% increase over two years, he said. (In a follow-up conversation, Kambic said she was working part-time in 2007 and began working full-time in 2009. Carder did not account for the increase in hours. She also pointed out the $59,395 figure on the draft document was an estimate of what the full-time salary might be and the range, determined at that time,$50,000-$60,000, will be revised, likely reduced by around $10,000. Kambic later said her proposed raise would increase her pay from $20 to $20.19 per hour.)
Additionally, that draft budget shows $23,363 for an Administrative Assistant and $35,942 for a Maintenance person. Neither of these positions existed in 2007.
A former HCFPD firefighter told the Board they had not acted responsibly in their handling of the business manager’s conviction of official misconduct. He also referred to HCFPD paid employees “like dogs or pigs coming to the trough.”
The other former firefighter said the Board could consider paying firefighters and administration a “token amount.”
A current firefighter dittoed the comment about the Board acting irresponsibly regarding the Business Manager.
Carder then reminded the Board they are responsible for oversight of the Business Manager’s behavior.
Thanks
Britton read a letter from David Chavez thanking TFA/HCFPD for a great experience.
Insurance Wants to Know
Bulich said HCFPD could issue a statement for homeowners to give their insurance companies confirming access (weather-depending) to their properties. The department cannot issue statements confirming adequate fire mitigation.
Treasurer’s Report
Rittenhouse said HCFPD still had a financial situation that he didn’t like at all. The General fund is overspent by $21,000 and the Capital fund is overspent by $23,000 he reported. He said the department couldn’t afford the projected salaries for the Business Manager, which included a 30% increase over last year, nor the Administrative Assistant (a 27% increase), and as for the question of the paid Fire Chief, “I’m not sure we can afford that either,” he said. Bulich said the commanding officers (station captains) had prioritized a paid chief and improving or replacing Station 1 (near Pinecliffe). He suggested the Board install a safety ladder at Station 3 versus plans to construct an exterior stairway to the second floor administrative offices. Bulich had consulted with firefighter Eric Becker, an architect, and said they questioned the need for the stairway as there are only two employees. Based on the number of occupants to the square footage, the current office meets Gilpin’s building code, said Bulich. Eliminating the stairway would save about $80,000 in construction expenses.
Merger Update
Rittenhouse had forgotten his notes so Britton provided an update on the last Timberline Fire Authority (TFA) meeting for Lesher’s benefit and the record. Britton, Durham and Rittenhouse serve on the TFA Board. TFA has settled on a command structure for a merged department and approved training requirements. The request from CSFPD to have HCFPD pay 80% of merger costs was discussed. Britton said he can’t see spending $70,000 when the two departments can operate under the IGA as they are now and “it doesn’t cost taxpayers as much.” The automatic mutual aid agreement gets the same thing (as the merger) said Britton, it’s just not one department. TFA discussed, but didn’t decide, splitting the costs 50/50 if the merger didn’t go through. If the departments agree to merge via dissolving one department and including it in another, it could be less costly than the $78,000 projected. Cohen was asked “the bottom cost” of filing the paperwork to do that. Cohen said he thought it would be less than estimated but would need to research to get an amount. Rittenhouse said CSFPD’s Board had said they were not yet ready to commit to a dissolution/inclusion merger. Dissolving CSFPD and including that fire protection district in HCFPD would be the least expensive way to merge.
Station 2 Exhaust
The Board asked Bulich for an update on the exhaust system he was directed to obtain for venting truck exhaust inside the station. Bulich said he was reevaluating it because of the cost and needed some time to put a new proposal together – “to do just what’s mandatory.” Britton and Durham noted the work had been funded for $35,000 and a work order had been approved when it was presented last summer. Bulich said he was unaware it had been approved.
Station 1 Improvement
Bulich said he was concerned about delaying work at Station 1 and suggested putting up a retaining wall and rebuilding the station. $100,000 has been budgeted he said. Lesher said they could discuss it at the budget workshop but asked if the concerns could be written and sent to Board members ahead of time. “It’s going to be a long meeting as it is,” he said. Station 1 abuts the steep hillside behind it; erosion and rockslides have been a past concern. The station is also too small to easily fit the newer vehicles.
Station 6 Update
Firefighter Jim Crawford is working on the cistern and other matters for the new station planned at the intersection of Highway 46 and Smith Hill Road. He is waiting to have a planning meeting until there is a master plan, he said. The Board had requested maps and other information to develop the master plan. Bulich said he had met with Gilpin County staff regarding population density but hadn’t yet met with Boulder County. The information needed is to be provided at the next meeting.
Election Next Year
Gain is HCFPD’s election official. He said he is filing the paperwork and everything is on track for the spring election of Directors.
Policy Matters
Bulich asked the status of the chart showing the department’s chain of command. A chart had been presented at a previous meeting showing the Business Manager and Chief both answer directly to the Board. Britton said it will go into the policy book. Lesher added the chart represents the organization as it is now. Bulich asked for an explanation, noting that an inquiry to the SDA had produced an e-mail that said the Board hires the Chief; the Chief reports to the Board; and everybody else reports to the Chief; and the Chief hires and fires other staff. Bulich distributed a copy of a portion of the e-mail and said, “My question is, ‘Why aren’t we following this’?” Cohen produced a copy of the e-mail he had sent to the SDA, the response to which was the one Bulich distributed, and copies of further e-mail correspondence from the SDA. In those, Cohen’s question is clear and the SDA director states that she was specifically referring to his question regarding the position of Fire Marshal. (Cohen later confirmed that HCFPD’s Board had followed the SDA’s advice and made the Fire Marshal answerable to the Chief.) A firefighter had obtained a copy of that e-mail and contacted the SDA, said Cohen The SDA director responded to the firefighter, clarifying the context of her remarks and added that Colorado statutes vest the Board with the authority to “manage, control and supervise all the business and affairs of the special district,” including hiring employees. She also admonished the firefighter for “being contacted anonymously in a way that uses SDA in general and my expertise in particular in whatever squabble you seen (stat) to be having with your fire district board.”
A computer use policy, presented at a prior meeting, was approved for the computers owned by HCFPD. They are to be used on-site and not accessed from other locations. The policy was prompted by software loaded onto the computer by a firefighter to enable off-site access and another situation in which inappropriate pictures were being used as a screensaver on one of the station computers.
Trainer Wanted
Bulich said the commanding officers from HCFPD and CSFPD are now holding joint meetings and they are looking for people interested in being the training coordinator. The individual departments must still track and record the completed trainings.
Free Trucks
The Board previously approved giving away four older vehicles that HCFPD has replaced. One will be given to the Nederland Fire Department on condition it be kept and used for at least one year. Central City Fire Department has also indicated interest in one of the vehicles. Bulich is to contact the Colorado Division of Fire Safety to see if there are other departments in the state who might be able to use the trucks.
More Money Matters
The Board approved an auditor’s contract for 2010 at $6,000. Kambic said she was working with the Chief and Forester Allen Owen on a grant to purchase 10 GPS units for use in wild land fires. Bulich said he had not included that in his budget. He had not yet provided his spending budget estimate but said he would have it the following week. Repairs to the Station 4 bay door, where it appeared someone had backed into it or otherwise hit it, cost $750. Bulich was directed to do an incident report to submit to the insurance company. Insurance checks totaling $9,168 had been received for damage done earlier to Station 3 and a fire engine.
Misbehavin’
Two former HCFPD firefighters asked about getting copies of the budget. They were told they could come into the business office to review it. Several audience members openly laughed. Rittenhouse admonished the “kindergartner” behavior and asked why the laughter. One former firefighter told him HCFPD “is so far behind – everybody else has it on websites.” “This doesn’t seem transparent,” said the other former HCFPD firefighter. Rittenhouse railed, saying he didn’t want to hear “that word” (transparent) again.
HCFPD’s practice for viewing the budget is the norm. Folks who want to see the budgets (in draft or final form) for Gilpin County, Central City, Black Hawk, Gilpin School District, etc. prior to approval (and, in some cases, after approval) must generally go to the respective business offices and ask to review them. Copies are made available but sometimes at a charge, as statute allows. After approval, some of the entities have the budget available on their websites or via e-mail. In none of these cases is the budget document copied en masse to hand out at meetings, as was suggested by members of the audience. One then offered to make copies for the next meeting.
One of the former firefighters asked if he could videotape the meeting with his cell phone. After a meeting earlier this year, where press and others continually snapping photographs became intrusive and disruptive to the meeting, the Board announced “No cameras.” They had tolerated one press person taking photographs throughout this meeting but drew the line at videotaping. While waiting in the Station bay for the outcome of the following executive sessions, the man used his phone to research online statutes regarding videotaping public meetings. He found several from other states allowing video, but had not found anything specific to Colorado prior to the Board’s return to public session. The Board does not object to audio taping.
Executive Sessions
HCFPD’s Board met in Executive Session with their attorney for legal advice and then called Kambic and Bulich into Executive Session for personnel issues. Following the Executive Sessions, the Board reconvened to public session and announced they would have a public statement to make in the future, possibly at their next meeting. Their next regular meeting is scheduled for December 14, 2009. They have a budget work session on December 6th.