St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1
Board of Commissioners
Special Meeting
Minutes
January 17, 2017
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m.
The prayer and pledge of allegiance were done.
ROLL CALL: Chairman Crowley and Commissioners Brackett, Hoying, Rich and Gay were present.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION-
Promotions: Dominick Bruno, Deputy Chief (absent)
5 Years of Service: Matthew Del Buono, Mark Ficarra, Jeff Hall
Unit of Valor Award: 12/20/16- Salt Bayou
• L-11 – Captain Troy Lombard, Operator Ryan Gonzalez
Unit Meritorious Award: 12/20/16- Salt Bayou
• L-11- Firefighter Michael Martin
• Rescue 11- Captain Nick Landry, Operator Devon Kennedy, Firefighter Aaron Hall
• E11- Captain Richard Pyke, Fire Operator Austin Thomas
• E-16- Captain Justin Galatas, Operator Brian Bilich, Firefighter Thomas McMillan
• District Chief Ronnie Brennan
Unit Meritorious Award: 9/13/16- Medical/ Cardiac Arrest
Captain A.J. Wrublewski, Operator Jeremy Stewart, Firefighter John Raymond
Commissioners Oaths of Office: Commissioners Hoying and Rich
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Commissioner Gay made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 13, 2016 meeting. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS – (none)
NEW BUSINESS –
1. Chief’s Report
a) Significant Monthly Events
• 1 resignation, 1 reinstatement
• Record Clerk position- filled
• Mechanic position- filled
• Civil Service Appeal- ongoing
• Handbook, SOP and SOG revisions will be sent out for a vote in February.
b)Annual Ethics and BOC Tier II Financial Disclosure- email reminder was sent 1/3/17
c)Waivers of BOC Economic Benefit/Compensations were received
d)Update- Station 13/ HQ – The project is advertised and the bid opening is Feb. 9.
e)Public Campaign/ Outreach- Chief Kaufmann stated that nothing was scheduled due to PIAL and Incident Management classes. Chief Kaufmann further stated that through the PIAL process, the goal is to become a Class 2 fire department.
f)Operations Reports – Chief Kaufmann discussed the “Operations” report (December) which covers YTD call totals, Hydrants Inspected, NFIRS Incidents, Dollar Loss/ Dollar Save (by Station location), Average Response Time (by Station) and EMS Call Type and Number of Incidents.
g)Maintenance Report- Chief of Administration Duffaut discussed the “Maintenance” report (December) which covered preventative maintenances and major repairs performed.
h)Training Report – Chief of Administration Duffaut discussed the monthly “Training” report (December) which included Classes, Certifications and Revenues.
i)Fire Prevention Report- Chief of Fire Prevention Marquette discussed the monthly “Fire Prevention” report (December) which included Inspections, Public Fire Safety & Education Events, Investigations, and Economic Impact.
Chairman Crowley congratulated Chief Marquette on his nomination as President of the Fire Prevention Chief’s Association.
Chief Kaufmann stated that Parish-wide there is an interest for some departments to have a Fire Prevention division and there have been meetings with the Parish for adoption of the NFPA code, per district.
j)General Comments- Chief Kaufmann stated that the annual 2016 report will be sent out in March.
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to accept the Chief’s report. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
2. SFFA (Slidell Firefighters Association)
• PFFA-LA Convention- February 2-4
3. PMI Report
a.) Employee Benefits
b.) Human Resource
1) 2017-001: BOC Resolution (BOC Appointee- J. Hoying)
ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adopt Resolution 20170-001, Relating to the Appointment of Commissioner J. Hoying for District No.1. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
2) 2017-002: BOC Resolution (BOC Appointee- M. Rich)
ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
Commissioner Gay made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-002, Relating to the Appointment of Commissioner M. Rich for District No.1. Commissioner Brackett seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
3) 2017-003: BOC Resolution (2016 BOC Resolution Summary)
ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-003, Relating to 2016 Summary of BOC Resolution(s) for District No.1. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
4)2017-004: BOC Resolution (Amend 2016 Budget) – (adopted after Financial Report)
ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
Commissioner Gay made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-004, Relating to the Approval of the 2016 Revised Budget for District No.1. Commissioner Brackett seconded the motion.
Mr. DiGiovanni stated that there were two financial statements presented- 1 with the revised budget variances for 7 lines items, the other with no variance changes.
The motion carried unanimously.
5) 2017-005: BOC Resolution (Professional Services Vote of Confidence)
DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
a) PMI Resources, LLC
Commissioner Brackett made a motion for a Vote of Confidence for PMI Resources, LLC. Commissioner Hoying seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
b) Troy Ingram, PLC
Commissioner Hoying made a motion for a Vote of Confidence for Troy Ingram, PLC. Commissioner Brackett seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
c) Joe DiGiovanni, CPA of Duplantier Hrapman Maher & Consultants
Commissioner Brackett made a motion for a Vote of Confidence for Joe DiGiovanni, CPA. Commissioner Gay seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
d) Ericksen, Krentel, LaPorte, LLP, Certified Public Accountants & Consultants
Commissioner Gay made a motion for a Vote of Confidence for Ericksen, Krental, LaPorte, LLP. Commissioner Hoying seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-005, Relating to the Vote of Confidence for Providers of Professional Services for District No.1. Commissioner Gay seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
6) 2017-006: BOC Resolution (BOC Chairman Vote of Confidence)
DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
Commissioner Hoying made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-006, Relating to the Vote of Confidence for Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for District No. 1. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried with Chairman Crowley abstaining.
7) 2017-007: BOC Resolution (BOC Vice Chairman)
DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
Commissioner Gay made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-007, Relating to the Election of the Vice Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for District No. 1. Commissioner Hoying seconded the motion.
Chairman Crowley stated that for Accreditation, having documented process for how we operate is very important; therefore, the Vice Chairman position was implemented. He further stated that he received nominations for Commissioner Brackett to serve as Vice Chairman.
Commissioner Rich made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-0047, Relating to the Election of Commissioner Brackett as Vice Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for District No.1. Commissioner Gay seconded the motion. The motion carried with Commissioner Brackett abstaining.
8)2017-008: BOC Resolution (BOC Review Credit Card Statements)
DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adopt Resolution 2017-008, Relating to the Required Monthly Review of Credit Card Expenditures for District No.1. Commissioner Gay seconded the motion.
Mr. Waniewski stated that this is a Parish approved requirement. Commissioners Rich and Gay volunteered to overlook the process and report back to the Board.
The motion carried unanimously.
9)Fire Chief Evaluation- Mr. Waniewski stated that he would release the evaluation, electronically, to the Board.
c.)Payroll – (none)
d.) FRS (Firefighters Retirement System) – (none)
e.) VFIS Special Risk Insurance & LWCC- Mr. Waniewski stated that the expected dividend check from LWCC is estimated to be half of what was received last year.
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to accept the PMI report. Commissioner Gay seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
4.Duplantier Hrapman Hogan & Maher, LLP- Chairman Crowley stated that we use a fiscal mindset and have ended up with a surplus due to preparing the budget with the unpredictability of revenues, etc.
Mr. DiGiovanni discussed the December financial report which included the 2016 major variances as well as the “Cash” report which reflects future capital projects.
Chief Kaufmann stated that there were numerous properties, off Bayou Liberty (several waterfront), that were not on the tax roll; however, they were put on the tax roll and paid by December 31, which resulted in an ad valorem revenue surplus.
Mr. DiGiovanni stated that with regards to restricting the surplus in the budget, he was going to replenish the, “Employee Insurance Fund”, “Disaster Fund” etc. as per Resolution, and the remaining balance would go to “Rolling Stock, Facilities & Equip.”.
Commissioner Gay made a motion to accept the December financial report. Commissioner Brackett seconded the motion.
Chief Kaufmann stated that while there is a surplus, in 2019 and 2020 there is a deficit projected. Chairman Crowley stated that there is a need to restrict some of the surplus to increase the funding for fleet in the future years.
The motion carried unanimously.
5.Attorney’s Report- (nothing to report)
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to accept the Attorney report. Commissioner Gay seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
6.Board comments
Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Gay seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m.