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MINUTES <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 <br />At this point in the workshop, Steve Morelan, Assistant Fire Chief, appeared <br />to present the proposed 2014 Fire Department budget. Morelan indicated that <br />rather than going through the budget line by line, there are two significant <br />additions to the budget which he will focus on. The first is a new line item <br />#223 Duty Crew in the amount of $9,964 and the second is #239 Fire Relief <br />in the amount of $31,000. <br />Morelan reported that at the City's goal setting session a few years a goal was <br />established to discuss the future of fire protection service in Little Canada. A <br />committee was formed to address this goal and the committee is comprised of <br />representatives of the City Council, City staff, and the Fire Department. As a <br />result of those committee meetings, members of the Fire Department have <br />taken additional First Responder Training, and the Fire Department is now <br />responding to accidents with injuries. Another topic that has been discussed <br />relates to establishment of a duty crew that would staff the station and <br />respond to calls for service. Morelan explained that currently the station is <br />not staffed, and that fire fighters are paid on -call volunteers. Calls for service <br />go to the County Dispatch Center who then calls out fire fighters. Morelan <br />indicated that depending on the time of day, response times vary, with the <br />average being 4 to 5 minutes. Morelan indicated that staffing the fire station <br />with enough people to get the first truck out the door will result in quicker <br />response times. He noted that most of the surrounding communities are <br />doing this in some manner. Morelan indicated that the long -range planning <br />committee has talked about this and is proposing a pilot program for 2014, <br />and noted that including payroll taxes, the cost will be approximately $11,000 <br />per year. The pilot program will be a duty crew of four people staffing the <br />station four hours per week. The pilot program will be evaluated and then <br />either expanded, revised, or deleted depending on the results of the <br />evaluation. <br />Morelan then reviewed the second line item #239 Fire Relief in the amount of <br />$31,000. Morelan explained the difference between the Little Canada Fire <br />Department, an incorporated non - profit organization that provides the City <br />with fire protection services, and the Little Canada Fire Relief Association, a <br />non - profit corporation that manages the Fire Department's pension dollars for <br />its fire fighters. Morelan reported that the Fire Department recently became <br />aware of a law which requires that the City's contribution toward fire relief <br />benefits must go to the Fire Department which then turns the dollars over to <br />the Relief Association. Therefore, this line item has been included in the Fire <br />Department budget for 2014. <br />3 <br />