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MINUTES <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />DECEMBER 17, 1991 <br />Morelan reported on the extensive amount of time the <br />committee spent in preparing the budget, and the hope <br />of the Fire Department to run a Department that will <br />prove beneficial to the citizens of Little Canada. <br />Morelan agreed with the previous comments of the Chief <br />that the special activities fund is needed to <br />acknowledge wives and families for their support. The <br />fund also provides for refreshments at the fire station <br />which encourage fire fighters to spend time at the <br />station. This is a benefit to the citizens, since it <br />can result in a faster response time to fire calls. <br />Morelan pointed out that the Department would like to <br />pay fire fighters $7 per fire call. If the Department <br />were staffed with full-time personnel, compensation <br />would probably be $20 per hour. Morelan stated that <br />fires are just as hot for a part-time fire fighter as a <br />full-time one. Morelan felt that the Fire Department <br />was a professional organization, and cannot operate as <br />if it were the 1950's, 1960's or 1970's. The law will <br />not allow this. <br />5teve Morelan, fire fighter, reported that he served on <br />the budget committee this year, and it was a real <br />eye-opener. Morelan felt that there were three main <br />factors that result in the Fire Department's budget <br />being higher. The first is the new fire station. The <br />building is larger and more expensive to maintain. The <br />second is the need for training. Morelan reported that <br />in the U.S. there are more fire fighters injured than <br />in any other civilized country. This resulted in the <br />safety standards outlined in NFPA 1500. The third <br />reason is that the Department has overspent its budget <br />in the last 2 years by about $20,000. None of these <br />additional expenses was frivolous. The fact of the <br />matter is that the Department did not budget enough in <br />those years, and had to spend down reserves to make up <br />for the extra expenses. <br />Jim Zietlow, fire fighter, pointed out that the <br />Roseville study included in the hand-out distributed by <br />the City Administrator was a 1990 study and contains <br />two-year old information. Zietlow also opposed being <br />compared to departments in cities under 15,000 in <br />population, feeling that the comparison should be to <br />the Lake Johanna, Roseville, or Maplewood Fire <br />Departments. Zietlow felt the basis for this is that <br />Little Canada has approximately the same population per <br />square mile. <br />Bill Suchy, fire fighter, stated that he could not <br />stress enough the training that is needed by the <br />Department's members to maintain a first-class <br />Page 6 <br />