Agenda Packets - 2019/05/06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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April 16, 2019 Dave Osberg, City Administrator Dear Administrator Osberg: We wanted to reach out to you today regarding an email sent by Fire Chief Mike Scott, to Mounds View City Administrator Nyle Zikmund. We would like to address several issues raised in the correspondence. Chief Scott indicated concern regarding who Administrator Zikmund represents based on the attached email. Please accept this letter as validation that Administrator Zikmund does represent the City of Mounds View. Additionally, he has, like most administrators -flexibility of schedule. Finally, his employment agreement specifically provides for legislative activity as well as outside consulting and training activities. Of greater concern though, is the directive to "leave those actively serving in the fire service to do their job". Mounds View is a partner to the one of the largest volunteer/combination fire departments in the State of Minnesota and the Spring Lake Park- Blaine - Mounds View Fire Relief pension fund is approaching $17 million in assets. The utilization of that fund as a retention tool has exceeded all expectations in our ability to retain volunteers. As an Administrator you are aware that the City (s) underwrite the pension plan and in our case, continue to save millions of dollars on an annual basis via the volunteer or mostly volunteer model. Administrator Zikmund is considered one of the top experts in the state on Volunteer Pension Plans and has been directly responsible in securing millions in additional fire pension aids overthe past 25 years. Additionally, he was responsible for the creation of the State Wide Volunteer Pension plan of which SBM is a member. Thus, it is in city's direct and best interest to stay involved and engaged on issues impacting reliefs. Chief Scott indicated in his email that Administrator Zikmund should endeavor to cease communicating with him which he did reply to the affirmative. However, Chief Scott was the official representative of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association (MSFCA) at a meeting with the Minnesota State Auditor (the meeting he references), her Pension Oversight Director, and the Executive Director and Deputy Director of the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement. He made a statement to the effect that the MSFCA questioned the value of volunteer fire pensions as a recruitment and retention tool and intimated that those funds might have greater use/value in things such as training orcertification. From our perspective, this was very troubling as any reduction or redirection of aid would or could result in an increase in a municipal contribution. In our case, loss of the Supplemental Aid would require an additional contribution of $28,500 or just over%% levy increase. We are a charter city with a very restrictive levy cap of 2% plus inflation which currently is insufficient to meet our base salary and benefit needs. Thus, any additional burden furthers that challenge.