Thursday, January 17, 2008
(Audio Replays of the meeting are available upon request)
A regular meeting of the Wake County Fire Commission was held Thursday, January 17, 2008, 7 p.m., in the Wake County EMS Training Facility, Carya Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina.
CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Ms. Ann Suggs called the meeting to order.
The following members were present: Ms. Ann Suggs, Mr. Billy Myrick, Chief Tom Vaughan, Chief Mike Cooper, Chief Mark Haraway, Mr. Bryan Lane, Mr. Bill Gatewood, Chief Tony Mauldin, Chief Chris Wilson, Mr. Lucius Jones, Senator Vernon Malone, Mr. Michael Fletcher and Chief Rodney Privette.
Members absent were: Chief Cecil Parker, Chief Scott McCollum and Commissioner Paul Coble.
Mr. Myrick gave an invocation.
Ms. Suggs welcomed Bryan Lane as the newest member to the Commission.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mr. Myrick made a motion to approve the agenda, which was seconded by Chief Cooper. The motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Being no changes to the minutes of November 15, 2007, those minutes stood approved as presented.
REGULAR AGENDA
Presentation on domestic preparedness and readiness regions
Martin Chriscoe made a presentation of the Domestic Preparedness and Readiness Regions. Mr. Chriscoe outlined the current regions, their purpose, and why these regions are important. In the future, homeland security funding will be distributed at the region level, as compared to the current process of distribution at the county level. The core committee and service representatives to Region 4 were presented.
Letter from county attorney – county ownership interest in new or substantially renovated facilities
John Rukavina presented a letter provided from County Attorney Scott Warren regarding County ownership of facilities. This letter is a follow-up from a discussion at the last meeting and outlines the county’s position in ownership interest in new or substantially renovated facilities.
Chief Vaughan made a motion to accept and endorse the letter, as provided by the County Attorney. The motion was seconded by Chief Haraway and was passed unanimously.
Facility Committee
Chief Brinson presented a report of activities of the facility committee. Based on their activities, the committee requested the following action.
The committee requested that the Commission pass a resolution that supports the retrofitting of existing fire stations with sprinkler systems once the initial dormitory renovations are complete and that the funds be planned in the long range business plan and financial model.
The committee requested that the Commission authorize the procurement of the land in the Wendell Falls area and that a plan be developed to identify the size of the site needed for the facility. In addition, the committee requests the authorization of the Fire Commission to include the construction of the fire station in the capital improvement plan financial model.
Based on a motion and vote by the Facility Committee, the committee requested that the Fire Commission ask the County Manager and staff to contact the City Manager and Fire Chief of Raleigh to determine if they would be willing to contract with the County to provide fire protection in the areas that meet the 50% ranking criteria.
The facility committee requested that the Fire Commission adopt a proposed Fire Station Repair and Renovation Policy and include the funds in the CIP budget planning process for fiscal year 2008 and subsequent years.
A question-and-answer session followed regarding the presentation.
Chief Cooper made a motion to accept the report and recommendations as presented. Mr. Gatewood seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Compensation Committee
Captain David Price provided a report from a combined group of the compensation and staffing committees.
The combined committee recommended that the funding level for retirement programs for all departments be set at 10% of salary for each full-time employee. This amount would be allocated to the department and be used only for full-time employee retirement benefits in a bona fide plan.
The combined committee recommended funding each department for a longevity program for full-time employees at levels designated by the committee, which is consistent with the State of North Carolina program.
The combined committee recommended funding each department for a VFIS Group Term Life Insurance Policy with a $50,000 coverage and 24/7 coverage rider. This coverage would bring all departments’ coverage to a consistent level and covers members both on and off duty.
Discussion followed.
Chief Vaughan made a motion to refer these recommendations to the Budget Committee and that the benefits be at least equal to that of Wake County employees. The motion died without a second.
Senator Malone made a motion to move the three recommendations forward in the budget process. The motion was seconded by Chief Vaughan and passed unanimously.
Apparatus Committee
Chief Woods presented two policies for approval from the Apparatus Committee. The first policy dealt with administrative/small vehicle replacement. Chief Mauldin made a motion to approve this policy. Mr. Myrick seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
The second policy dealt with disposal of vehicles replaced using County fire tax funds. Mr. Jones made a motion to approve the policy and Mr. Malone seconded it. The motion passed unanimously.
Long Range Business Plan
Ray Echevarria presented an overview of the Long Range Business Plan. The Long Range Plan document contains the recommendations previously approved by the Fire Commission. The plan includes the facility and staffing recommendations through 2015, the original long-range business plan approved by the Board of Commissioners, a placeholder for the updated Capital model and the Compensation Plan. The presentation included a summary of observations, findings and recommendations.
Discussion followed.
Chief Cooper made a motion to accept the business plan, including the changes made during discussion, and present the plan to the Board of Commissioners in February. Mr. Lane seconded the motion. The motion failed on a vote of 3-Yes, 7-No.
The Commission scheduled a work session for February 21, 2008, to continue discussion of the business plan.
INFORMATION AGENDA
PRESENTATION – FIRE PROTECTION SERVICE TAX DISTRICT DEBT
Jason Horton, Wake County Budget and Management Analyst, presented the current finance model (does not include the recommendations approved by the Fire Commission during this meeting). The handouts illustrated the capital debt service.
Fire/Rescue Services Director report
Ray informed the Fire Commission that several materials requested by the Fire Commission at the November meeting are provided for members’ information and use. The materials are a notebook containing Fire Commission background information and copies of the Wake County Board of Commissioners’ policies on appointed boards.
Chair report
Ms. Suggs had no report.
Other business
None.
Public comments
None.
Adjournment
The next meeting of the Wake County Fire Commission is a work session scheduled for Thursday, February 21, 2008.