St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1

Board of Commissioners

Regular Meeting
Minutes

May 15, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m.

The prayer and pledge of allegiance were done.

ROLL CALL:  Chairman Crowley and Commissioners Hoying, Brackett and Rich were present.
Commissioner Gay was absent.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION–

 LWCC Check – Mr. Poser presented the department with a 2017 dividend check in the amount of $271.393. The total dividends received from 2013-2017 are $1,980,681.

Ms. Dawn Bahm  presented a “LWCC Safest 70 Award” to the department.

Chief Kaufmann stated that when doing public presentations, he discusses our Accreditation, Class 2 Rating and the LWCC Safest 70 Award accomplishments.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Commissioner Rich made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 17, 2018 meeting. Commissioner Hoying seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS –

1. Compensation Package Proposal- (Resolution under “PMI”)

NEW BUSINESS

1. Chief’s Report

1. Adopt Millage Rate (s)- (Resolution under “PMI”)
2. Levy Parcel Fee on Tax Roll- (Resolution under “PMI”)
3. Significant Monthly Events

• 2017 Audit- No Findings
• Apr. 19- Community Driven Strategic Plan Meeting
• Apr. 23- Round Robin at Founders Bldg.- Chief Kaufman stated that there was  many positive comments about our department.
• Apr. 26- Business and Community Showcase (Harbor Center)
• Apr. 28- Camellia City Kids Festival- Jr. Firefighter Combat Challenge
• Apr. 29- St. Luke’s Blue Mass
• May 2- Senior Spring Celebration

1. Station 13/HQ- Update– Chief Kaufmann stated that he has denied some requests for time extensions, and is staying with the July 18 date.
2. Personal Liability for Damage to Dept. Equipment or Property due to Negligence- Chief Kaufmann stated that we are researching and drafting our accident investigation policy due to employees being at fault in the majority of the accidents that we have had. He further stated that we have a $1,000 deductible and the discussion is that if an employee is found to be negligent, after the investigation process, the employee is responsible for repairs, up to the deductible. This would be implemented January 1, 2018.

1. Public Campaign/ Outreach- Medical public outreach event at Fremaux Town Center, date TBD.

1. Operations Reports – Chief of Operations Kuhn discussed the “Operations” report (April) 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.

1. Maintenance Report- Chief of Operations Kuhn discussed the “Maintenance” report (April) which covered preventative maintenances and major repairs performed.

1. Fire Prevention Report- Chief of Administration Duffaut discussed the monthly “Fire Prevention” report (April) which included Inspections, Public Fire Safety & Education Events, Investigations, and Economic Impact.

1. Training Report – Chief of Operations Kuhn discussed the monthly “Training” report (April) which included Classes, Certifications and Revenues.

1. Communications Report – Chief of Communications Watson discussed the monthly “Communications” report (April) which included call volume and statistics.

• General Comments- (none)

Commissioner Brackett made a motion to accept the Chief’s report. Commissioner Hoying seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

1. SFFA (Slidell Firefighters Association) – MDA Golf Tournament- Canceled

1. PMI Report –

1. Employee Benefits – (none)
2. Human Resource

1.    2018-022: BOC Resolution (Approve Pay Scale & Offset Adjustments – Effective 6/1/18

Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adopt Resolution 2018-022, Relating to the Approval of a Pay Scale and Employee Retirement Systems Offset Adjustment for District No. 1. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion.

Chairman Crowley reiterated that this was a pay scale adjustment, based on good business practice.
He recommended that “increase” be replaced with “adjustment” on the Resolution.

Commissioner Hoying made a motion to amend the Resolution and replace “increase” with “adjustment”. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

1. 2018-023: BOC Resolution (Adopt Official Journal)

Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adopt Resolution 2018-023, Relating to the Adoption of the Official Journal for District No. 1. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

1. 2018-024: BOC Resolution (Adopt Millage Rate (s))

RESOLUTION

BE IT RESOLVED, that the following millage(s) are hereby levied on the 2018 tax roll on all property subject to taxation by St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1:

MILLAGE

Acquisition and Maintenance                                                 35.0 mills

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the proper administrative officials of the Parish of St. Tammany, State of Louisiana, be and they are hereby empowered, authorized, and directed to spread said taxes, as hereinabove set forth, upon the assessment roll of said Parish for the year 2018, and to make the collection of the taxes imposed for and on behalf of the taxing authority, according to law, and that the taxes herein levied shall become a permanent lien and privilege on all property subject to taxation as herein set forth, and collection thereof shall be enforceable in the manner provided by law.

The foregoing resolution was read in full. The floor was opened for public comment. There was no public comment. The roll was called on the adoption thereof, and the resolution was adopted by the following votes:

Chairman Crowley called for the vote:

YEAS: Hoying, Crowley, Brackett, Rich (4)
NAYS: (0)
ABSTAINED: (0)
ABSENT: Gay (1)

The motion carried unanimously.

CERTIFICATE

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and exact copy of the resolution adopted at the board meeting held on May 15, 2018, at which meeting a quorum was present and voting.

Slidell, Louisiana, this 15th day of May, 2018.

________________________________________
Daniel Crowley, Chairman
Board of Commissioners
St. Tammany Fire Dist. #1

1. 2018-025: BOC Resolution (Levy Parcel Fee on Tax Roll)

RESOLUTION 2018-025

BE IT RESOLVED, by the St. Tammany Fire Protection District, in a public meeting held on May 15, 2018, which meeting was conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Law, whereupon the taxing district voted to approve and to levy the parcel fee on all taxable property shown on the official assessment roll for the year 2018, and when collected, the revenues for said taxes shall be used for the purposes for which said taxes have been levied. (See Exhibit “A”)

PARCEL FEE                       MAXIMUM                         2017 LEVY                          2018 LEVY

$39.00                                   $39.00                                   $39.00

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Assessor of the Parish of St. Tammany, shall extend upon the assessment roll for the year 2018 the parcel fee herein levied, and the tax collector of said Parish shall collect and remit the same to said taxing authority in accordance with law.

The foregoing resolution was read in full. The floor was open to the public. There was no public comment. The roll was called on the adoption thereof, and the resolution was adopted by simple majority of the total membership of the taxing authority voting in favor. The votes were:

Chairman Crowley called for the vote:

YEAS: Hoying, Crowley, Brackett, Rich (4)
NAYS: (0)
ABSTAINED: (0)
ABSENT: Gay (1)

The motion carried unanimously.

THIS RESOLUTION WAS DECLARED ADOPTED ON THE 15^TH DAY OF MAY, 2018, AT A REGULAR MEETING OF THE ST. TAMMANY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT, A QUORUM OF THE MEMBERS BEING PRESENT AND VOTING.

____________________________________________
Chairman, Board of Commissioners
St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1

ATTEST:

____________________________________________
Secretary, Board of Commissioners
St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1

1. Payroll – (none)
2. FRS (Firefighters Retirement System)
3. VFIS Special Risk Insurance & LWCC

Commissioner Brackett made a motion to accept the PMI report. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

1.  Duplantier Hrapman Hogan & Maher, LLP-

Mr. DiGiovanni discussed the April financial report.

Commissioner Hoying made a motion to accept the April financial report. Commissioner Brackett seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

1. Attorney’s Report–

1.  Record Request Fees- Chief Kaufmann stated that we are working on changes in costs for public record requests.

Chief Kaufmann stated that we are named in a lawsuit, only by the individual (former Volunteer with Fort Pike) filing the suit, against the Fort Pike Fire Department.

Chief Kaufmann stated that two of the former volunteers created a fire department called the Rigolet’s Estates Volunteer Fire Department, St. Tammany Parish. The State Fire Marshall, nor the City of New Orleans, has recognized or issued a fire department ID number. He further stated that they claimed to have opened an office at 400 Garrett Rd. and are raising, and receiving, money for an unofficial department. They further stated that I (Chief Kaufmann) am working with them to create this department. Attorney Ingram will be sending cease and desist notices to these individuals, and St. Tammany Fire Dist. #1 has no intention to support or recognize them.

Chief Kaufmann stated that we are working with Attorney Ingram on the Stat.13/HQ project in the event that we need him to do anything, as well as the record request policy and now the letters to the individual volunteers.

Commissioner Brackett made a motion to accept the Attorney report. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

(Troy Ingram and Mark Waniewski arrived at 7:26)

1. Board of Commissioner Comments – Chairman Crowley stated that a salary adjustment was voted on, and to look at in all totality, he asked Mr. Waniewski to get figures from 15 different local districts which showed department size, chief salary, district population, etc. He further stated that Chief Kaufmann is the least paid Chief in the comparison.

Chairman Crowley stated that as Fire Chief, Chief Kaufmann has achieved many accomplishments. Commissioner Hoying stated that Chief Kaufmann has had above average evaluations and feels he deserves an increase. Commissioner Rich stated that based on the data, we have room to do better. Commissioner Brackett stated that Chief Kaufmann is President of the St.  Tammany Chief’s Assoc. and the other Chiefs receive higher compensation.

Commissioner Brackett stated that he would like to see the calculation for a 10%, 15% and 20% increase, based on current salary.

Chief Kaufmann thanked the Board for the recognition and stated that he did not ask about an increase.

Commissioner Brackett made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Rich seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

 The meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m.