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September 14, 2011 Board of Supervisors special meeting
Town of Maine Minutes
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Special Board of Supervisor Meeting
Town of Maine Town Hall
6111 N. 44th Avenue
Wausau, WI 54401
The Board of Supervisors of the Town of Maine held a special meeting at the Town of Maine Town Hall on Wednesday, September 14, 2011at 7:00 p.m.
AGENDA
1. Call the meeting to order – Tad Schult, Town Chairman
2. Discussion and possible action regarding fire department officer positions.
3. Adjournment.
Notice and agenda of this meeting was posted at Red Granite Bar, Richard’s Restaurant and Bar, Schmidt’s Bar and the Town of Maine Town Hall, 6111 N. 44th Avenue, Wausau, WI on or before September 9, 2011.
Betty Hoenisch
Town of Maine Clerk
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Special Board of Supervisor Meeting
The Board of Supervisors of the Town of Maine held a special meeting at the Town of Maine Town Hall on Wednesday, September 14, 2011at 7:00 p.m.
Chairman Tad Schult called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Present were Chairman Tad Schult, Supervisor Wes Schoepke, Supervisor Keith Rusch and Treasurer Marilyn Grunenwald. Fire Department officers present included Acting Chief Bob Pound, Lieutenant Paul Anderson, Lieutenant Joe Bozinski and EMS Captain Jim Sala. Fire Department members present were Marc Babel, Dean Lepak, Gene Pagel and Mike Wanke.
Chairman Schult asked everyone to introduce themselves and sign in on the signup sheet.
Discussion and possible action on fire department officer positions was item two on the agenda.
Chairman Schult said there are a lot of items to discuss tonight and where should we begin? He asked Supervisor Schoepke about applications for the chief’s position. Supervisor Schoepke stated there was only one applicant to date and September 15, 2011 was the deadline to submit an application.
Chairman Schult explained some work had been done on the fire department budget. The handout the clerk prepared for tonight’s meeting was the fire department budget from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 showing all the expenses. Supervisor Rusch said this item was something the officers had requested at the September 1, 2011 Special Board meeting and Closed Session.
Chairman Schult explained each budget line. He also explained miscellaneous items such as workers compensation insurance are not broken down by the insurance company, so for this report we tried to prorate the amount that should be a fire department expense. Other prorated items are utilities and fuel so we could give the fire department a rough estimate of their expenses. He noted he will need the gallons of fuel used by the department from Bob so we have a more accurate cost in the report. He explained building maintenance is another item that is not broken down by the accountant. When Hurtis Company came and fixed the furnace the town estimated that approximately one third of that maintenance charge should be a fire department expense.
Treasurer Grunenwald explained some items are shown in the annual report as public works expenses when in fact the expenses are for the fire department and public works. The only way the Town would have actual numbers would be to separate the buildings and install separate meters.
Next Chairman Schult explained the fire department truck loan line no. 5810. The truck loan was recently paid off, however the Town Board kept that loan amount in the budget. Right now there is almost $23,000.00 in that account which is being saved for a down payment on a new truck.
Chairman Schult stated the contracts are bringing in approximately $57,000.00 in revenues.
Acting Chief Pound stated the inspector’s expenses are offset by the state 2% fire dues revenues. Discussion followed on fire inspections, certification being sent to the state for completing inspections and dues being added to all the contracts a few years ago.
Acting Chief Pound questioned whether that the fire department audit cost of $17,150.00 should be part of their budget. Supervisor Schoepke stated it was a fire department expense, however that is not a budget item the department will have next year.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Special Board of Supervisor Meeting
Lieutenant Anderson did calculations regarding the actual cost to the Town of Maine taxpayers for Maine Fire Department’s service. Chairman Schult stated Town of Maine taxpayers support the fire department, plus the members have all the work and headaches to support the department. He stated the contracts should be revised so all the contract area residents pay for a service charge, because a Town of Maine resident is charged for a call when the department is paged out to their property.
Lieutenant Anderson stated a proposed budget had never been presented to the officers and felt that it should have been brought to the officers for input.
Chairman Schult explained the Town Board was under the impression that when Bob Pound brought the fire department budget to the budget workshop that it had been discussed with the officers.
Discussion followed regarding the former chief and officer participation in the fire department budget process. Lieutenant Anderson asked Acting Chief Pound why he never brought the budget to the officers. Mr. Pound stated he was never given a printout when he requested one. Supervisor Rusch said that should never be an issue because the budget is an open record.
Lieutenant Anderson asked why Bob did not bring the budget back to the officers after he met with the Board at the budget workshop. Acting Chief Pound kept saying he could not get a printout. Treasurer Grunenwald explained that what Bob Pound was probably looking for is a complete budget similar to what was prepared for tonight’s meeting and Mr. Pound said yes.
EMS Captain Sala stated the fire department budget should be put together by all the officers. The fire department budget has always been done by only one person. I am the EMS Captain and I never had a say in how much money was budgeted for EMS items. I just purchased what I needed, he said.
Supervisor Rusch stated I have not been involved in the past, but it only makes sense that the officers set the fire department budget for things that you need. Things need to get communicated better between the two entities. We need to go forward from here and work together. To move forward there needs to be open communication between everyone. It is your department and you should be running it and the Board should be supporting you and that can happen if we all work together. If the process should be that the officer’s work on the budget then let’s set that up, he said.
Chairman Schult explained when the Town Board worked on the budget they went thru the categories with Bob to put in the numbers, it was never set in stone. There was always an opportunity and plenty of time to come back to the Board and say this is something we are going to need. There was always time to adjust the budget before it was presented to the public.
Discussion followed regarding communication, starting with a clean slate and setting a new fire department budget process. There was discussion on the 2012 budget process and getting expense reports to the officers for some of the line items. Chairman Schult asked Treasurer Grunenwald to go to the office to check with Clerk Hoenisch regarding budget reports.
Chairman Schult stated the chief position application deadline is September 15th and asked if other open positions are going to be posted. Discussion followed on the officer vacancy posting procedures.
Clerk Hoenisch joined the meeting to answer questions on budget line item break down reports for 2010 and January 1, 2011 to date. The officers marked the budget line items they would like reports on. Discussion followed on past budgeting procedures. Clerk Hoenisch explained that at the monthly
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Special Board of Supervisor Meeting
Town Board meeting the budget workshop would be scheduled. Once the workshop date was set either Bob would ask for the budget report or the clerk would supply him with a copy so he could attend the workshop and give the Board the fire department’s budget.
Lieutenant Bozinski asked what the process was after the budget workshop. Clerk Hoenisch explained that after meeting with Bob and public works employees the Town Board puts the preliminary budget numbers together to see if the budget will meet the state mandated tax levy limit. A special meeting is held and the budget is revised to make it compliant. In the twelve years I’ve been a town official the Town has never taken money out of the fire department budget to balance the Town budget. We have always taken money out of other categories instead. The Town Board has never denied any requests from the fire department for needed items. Actually it’s a law since the state levy limits have been implemented that a Town Board cannot reduce their emergency services budget. If something needed to be pulled out of the budget it was always taken from administrative expenses, official’s salaries or public works, but never from the fire department budget, she stated. Chairman Schult explained the fire department has to tell the Town Board what it needs and then it is the Town Board’s responsibility to make the budget work. Clerk Hoenisch said the November budget public hearing is always held on a drill night to give fire department members an opportunity to attend the meeting. Chairman Schult stated the Town Board would like more residents and fire department members to attend that meeting.
Marc Babel asked about the money that has been set aside in the truck loan line. Chairman Schult responded that the Town is going to keep that money set aside because eighteen months ago the Town Board asked for a five year plan for trucks and equipment and to date we have not gotten that information. Supervisor Rusch explained the expectation was for the fire department to plan what they need to replace and let the Town Board know so those items can be budgeted for. Do you want a new truck in one year or three years? It has to be an open process, he stated. Chairman Schult explained the fire department needs to look at different things and decide what kind of truck they need. That’s where we need the members input. Acting Chief Pound is also checking into a grant for a new truck. Supervisor Schoepke said you need to get us your plan so we can start planning and budgeting.
Chairman Schult explained there has been a misconception that the Town Board is not willing to buy a new truck or the Town Board is spending fire department contract revenues to pave town roads. I just want to get beyond that. I want to get this thing going in a direction where we are all working together. I don’t know how the communication thing went wrong, but we need for you to tell us what you need. What tools do you need for making up a budget? I’m excited and want to make this so we are all working together and not fighting each other. That takes up too much energy and time. Life’s too short for all that. This fire department is too important of a unit, a vital part of this community to let it fail. The fire department has been an important asset of the Town for over thirty five years. It’s something the Town has been proud of and I support this department. There have been some crooks in the path, but let’s get this ironed out so we can all work together and make this great again. In the last couple of weeks the fire department has been involved in the Labor Day parade and the 9/11 activities and that makes us very proud and happy for that involvement.
Discussion was initiated by Lieutenant Anderson regarding pagers, batteries, washer instructions and the audit outline. Lieutenant Anderson stated that we need to move forward, but we need to get some
of the past out of the way. There has been a problem with the chain of command and we need to
address that. Lieutenant Anderson felt former Captain Pound had withheld information or items regarding the budget and audit outline. Acting Chief Pound disputed that and said he had not sabotaged anything as he is being accused of doing.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Special Board of Supervisor Meeting
Chairman Schult stated he was coming to Bob’s defense because John was the Chief and it was his responsibility to keep the officers informed and to delegate job responsibilities.
EMS Captain Sala felt the Town Board should have come to the officers regarding the audit outline issues. Clerk Hoenisch asked to respond because she was chairperson when the closed sessions were held. The consultants and Chief Ohrmundt stated everything was to go thru the proper chain of command. On several occasions the Town Board asked if they should meet with the officers and Chief Ohrmundt stated it was not necessary because he would meet with the officer’s report back to the Town Board. Supervisor Schoepke explained that at one of his last meetings with the former chief he asked about attending an officer meeting and the chief stated it was not necessary.
Lieutenant Anderson explained he has concerns since John Ohrmundt resigned and Bob is Acting Chief. Maine Fire is one of the best trained departments in the area thanks to Bob. It’s been easy for us officers to say, Bob is always here, so let him do the things needed for the department. What I’m trying to say is that it needs to change and can you do that, Bob? We need to go on from here and are you going to be able to change the mentality of this fire department?
Lieutenant Bozinski asked if he could say something. Bob, you have done a lot for this department, even more than I’ll ever know. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind as to what you’ve done, but you can’t do it all. It’s time to start delegating some of the responsibility to other members or officers. Chairman Schult stated there are some things that are chief responsibilities; however Bob are you going to be able to delegate some of the other jobs out to someone else? Supervisor Schoepke stated the best leaders are the best delegators that make sure the jobs are done and done properly.
EMS Captain Sala stated that we all have a responsibility to the fire department. We all need to communicate better, be honest with each other. Not just officer to Town Board, but officer to officer. We all need take responsibility for what is happening here.
Lieutenant Anderson explained that he has put a lot of time in on the department and learned a lot from Bob Pound, but the best experience is doing it, actually going out and fighting the fire.
Chairman Schult asked if anyone else had any comments.
Mike Wanke stated Bob Pound has put more time into the department than anyone else. Maine Fire Department is one of best fire departments in the area and that is because of John and Bob. Everyone has their area they are good at and Bob is good with grants and training. There is a lot of equipment and things this department would not have if it wasn’t for the grant money Bob has been able to secure for the department. Not everyone is going to get along all the time, but when push comes to shove we all pull together.
Marc Babel questioned why the Town Board hired the consultants for the audit rather than try to work out the issues with the department or the officers. Chairman Schult explained the Town Board started addressing the issues with Chief Ohrmundt over eighteen months ago. We met with Chief Ohrmundt and the officers on October 28, 2009 and asked for a five year plan on a building, equipment and recruitment. We asked the officers, where do you guys see yourselves in five years? We had a list of information that we needed from Chief Ohrmundt such as credentials and training. We asked for this information because it’s the Town Board’s responsibility to see that the fire department is compliant. In eighteen months we had basically gotten nowhere.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Special Board of Supervisor Meeting
Clerk Hoenisch asked if she could comment because she had been chairperson at the time of the audit. She explained that per the consultants at the February 16, 2011 audit presentation meeting the Town Board should assign a Board member to meet with the Chief Ohrmundt regarding the outline. The consultant stated it was the Chief’s responsibility to see that the audit items get completed. The Town Board made the decision to have Wes meet with Chief Ohrmundt on the outline.
Mr. Babel said if Chief Ohrmundt was not getting the outline accomplished then the Town Board should have come to the department. Clerk Hoenisch said it would have been easier to meet with the entire fire department and say this is what we need done, however we were told we needed to follow the proper chain of command. Chief Ohrmundt was the commander and chief and he stated he wanted everything to go thru him. He requested that the Town Board not involve any of the officers. Chief Ohrmundt wanted to be the in charge of the entire audit outline process. If we had been allowed to communicate with the officers the process would have been so much easier, she stated.
Mr. Babel asked what the chief response was to the outline timeline and Supervisor Schoepke stated we got a lot of excuses. Chairman Schult said right now we are back to where we were six months ago. We have accomplished more in the last three weeks than in the last eighteen months.
Lieutenant Anderson explained Chief Ohrmundt had stated to the officers that they would provide the requested audit information to the Town Board. Unfortunately most of this responsibility was put on Bob’s shoulders because he had access to that information. Now we the officers find out that the information was never given to the Town Board. Supervisor Schoepke stated it’s still the chief’s responsibility to make it happen. Lieutenant Anderson said I’m just at a loss for words here.
Discussion followed on the Town Board meeting with the entire fire department at their next fire drill which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 21, 2011.
Adjournment. Chairman Schult called for a motion to adjourn. Supervisor Rusch made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Supervisor Schoepke. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted and approved October 10, 2011.
Betty Hoenisch
Town of Maine Clerk
Archive:
March 12, 2012 Board of Supervisors
March 6, 2012 Board of Supervisors special meeting
February 13, 2012 Board of Supervisors
January 9, 2012 Board of Supervisors
December 27, 2011 Board of Supervisors special meeting
December 12, 2011 Board of Supervisors
November 16, 2011 Town of Maine Board Budget Public Hearing
November 14, 2011 Board of Supervisors
October 17, 2011 Board of Supervisor Special Meeting 2012 Budget Workshop
October 10, 2011 Board of Supervisors
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