| BOARD MEETING MINUTES December 15, 2009 1. Call to order. The Board meeting was called to order at 6:01 pm. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGANCE 3. Roll Call of the Board Members. Board Members Present: Jerry Loynachan Gary Selig Jim Doskocil Dan Atkinson Rick Parker Board Members Absent: None There was a special presentation by Captain Preston Slayton. Preston presented a plaque to former Board Members Bill Dunlap Sr. and Randy James for their years of service and support to the Union. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES a. Approval of the Executive Session Minutes of October 20, 2009 There was a motion to approve Executive Session minutes of October 20, 2009 by Gary Selig and a second by Rick Parker. The vote in favor was unanimous. b. Approval of the Executive Session Minutes of November 17, 2009 There was a motion to approve Executive Session minutes of November 17, 2009 by Gary Selig and a second by Rick Parker . The vote in favor was unanimous. c. Approval of the regular meeting minutes of November 17, 2009 There was a motion to approve Executive Session minutes of November 17, 2009 by Gary Selig and a second by Rick Parker . The vote in favor was unanimous. The Board chose at this time to have the presentation for the Fort Valley and Summit Audits by Alex Tkatchov. Alex stated that he represents Tkatchov and Tkatchov CPAs. He will present the Summit Report first. This is for the 2008/2009 Fiscal year. They did not find anything material. They give a clean opinion. Alex went over the background of the audit and explained that they pull a sample of invoices to look for errors. They found no errors and continued with the audit. Alex summarized the financial statements. Alex stated that page 1 belongs to the firm. This is the option. Page 2-4 is the Management Letter from the Fire Chief. It is done by the Fire District. Alex went over the assets and liabilities. Alex explained that there are two reports. The first is as a business on an accrual basis and the second is as a government on a cash basis. He then explained the differences in these two reports. Alex discussed the retirement fund. Alex stated that they do not audit the retirement fund. The figures come from the actuarial report. Alex discussed the lease purchase agreements and the last page is the budget and the actual amounts. He then asked if there were any questions. There were no questions. Alex stated that as of June 30th Summit Fire District was a healthy venture. Alex gave the presentation for the Fort Valley Audit. Alex stated that they did not find anything material and they give a clean opinion. Alex went over the reports and compared the assets to the liabilities. Alex stated that Fort Valley is in good shape. It was a good year. Alex stated that there was a prior period adjustment. The same item was picked up twice. Alex explained the differences of the Business report and the Government report. He discussed the long term lease obligations. Alex stated that Summit and Fort Valley merged October 2009. He asked if there were any questions. There were no questions. Alex thanked Tina Dillahunty and Don Howard for their cooperation and the Board thanked Alex. 5. REPORTS a. Financial Reports Tina Dillahunty gave the Financial Reports. Tina stated that the balance of Fort as of November 1st was combined with the Summit Budget to create a new budget amount. Included in the report is a spreadsheet that shows the Summit Budget, the balance of the Fort Valley Budget and the combined total. Tina explained that the Wells Fargo Escrow Account has been closed. The December 1st payment of $44,437.76 for Station 36 has been paid from the Escrow Account and the Balance of $64,672.99 was sent to Summit and put in the County Account. We have received several payments from the State that are shown on the Out of District Report. b. Administration Report Tina Dillahunty gave the Administration Report. We are working on getting together the Appreciation Dinner that will be held in January. Now that we have the audit report I will be getting the report to the County this week. We will be working on combining the Summit and Fort Valley files. I will continue to work on getting the Budget worksheets set up and work on projections. c. Auxiliary Report The Auxiliary Report was given by Tina Dillahunty. The Auxiliary is helping 5 families this year for Christmas. With the economy the way it is, we picked up a couple more families but we are doing fine. We have all the gifts bought and wrapped and hope to have them all delivered by December 16th. The Santa’s Run went pretty well – Santa gave out 115 bags in the Summit area and about 25 bags in the Fort Valley area. The Auxiliary wants to give very special “Thank you” to all those who gave us donations for candy. The Auxiliary wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and thanks you for all your support this year. d. Local 1505 Report The Local 1505 Report was given by Preston Slayton. Preston stated that they are working with administration on policies, procedures and guidelines. Preston stated that we had five families for Thanksgiving but one did not pick up the dinner so we donated it to Pat Burns. Preston stated that Pat is doing well. Chief Howard discussed the call that we ran on Pat. Paul Simpson stated that his crew ran on the call and discussed what happened. Chief Howard stated that this is the down side of living in a small community. We can run on one of our own or someone we know. 6. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Randy James answered the Call to the Public. Randy stated that he is here to discuss Chief Howard’s contract. Randy stated that about five years ago he meet with the Fort Valley area to contract with them. Randy stated that after the first year the Chief came to the Board and asked to buy back vacation. The Board reminded Don that this was done on his own and to pay him for his vacation would appear to subsidize Fort Valley. The next year Don got differential pay for himself, Tina, and Joann through Fort Valley. Then Chief Howard convinced the Board he needed two Battalion Chief’s working a 40 hour work week. Later another Battalion Chief was hired and they moved to shift work. Randy stated that Chief Howard they convinced the Summit Board that they needed to hire more help for administration so Peggy was hired for 30 hours per week (NOTE: Peggy was hired for 15-18 hrs the first year and now works 20-25 hrs per week). Randy stated that Chief Howard then convinced the Board that he needed a Deputy Chief and Sam Whitted was hired. Randy stated that during the merger discussion they said the differential pay would go away. At a Board meeting on June 9th Dan Atkinson stated if we merged it would save administration fees. Don had stated that it would save income if we merge. Randy stated that June 23, 2008 the Chief called for an executive session. Randy stated that his salary was $90,000 per year. There was a discussion and he said his salary would stay at step 10 if they merge. In the meeting in September Rick Parker asked Chief Howard and Tina Dillahunty if they understand and agree that if we merge the stipend would end. They both stated that they agreed. Dan stated that the Chief salary questions were answered. June 17, 2009 the Chief called an Executive Session. He gave a list of things he wants a raise for. His contract comes up on July 1st. He was asking for the Summit Board to allow the differential pay to continue for the remainder of the year for himself, Tina and Joann. Randy stated that at the August 19th Board meeting Chief Howard stated that the differential pay would go away. Randy stated that he met with Chief Howard about six weeks ago with the intent to sell him life insurance. He wanted to make sure he understood his tax consequences of the department paid insurance. He didn’t inquire about his contract and he said he would ask for all the original stipend and that he would remain on step 10. Randy stated that he called the Board members and reminded them of the conversations. Randy stated that when he signed off on this merger he understood that the differential pay would go away. He was against the step system and wanted increased based on merit pay. Randy stated that he is asking the Board to table this for right now. You just merged. Wait until the first of March. You will know how much money you will have in the pot. Randy stated that he recommends having a budget workshop. The Board members that are from Fort Valley are not used to having a 6.2 million dollar budget. Randy stated if you start taking care of some people that are on step 10 there are others that might have a lawsuit, be careful. Randy stated that this was hot and heavy about the merger. He felt the timing was not right. It was a little too soon. Randy stated that with the politics he voted to go with the merger. Randy stated that Dan offered to give up his seat on the Board if they merge and several people stated that this was not appropriate. Chairman Doskocil then asked Randy to stop and Randy then left. 7. PURCHASE REQUESTS There were no purchase requests 8. CHIEF’S REPORT a. Run Report. The Run Report was given by Chief Howard. There were 91 calls to service for the month of November. Don stated that we had a good save on a manufactured home. There was a gas tanker rupture on I-40. Captain Duane Deck discussed a call on Magdalena. Don stated that a snow mobile can make a difference and it did on this call. Captain Mike Gillespie discussed a house fire off Leupp Rd. The two story cabin was totally involved before we arrived. The resident’s cat woke him up and got him out of the house. He is a motor cycle racer and we protected his motor cycles. Jim Timney had to chain the tender to get it up the hill. b. Arizona Fire District Association Conference (AFDA) The AFDA Conference is January 15th, 16th and 17th in Laughlin. Please let Joann know if you are going to the Conference. c. Communications Upgrade Chief Howard stated that we are moving forward with the Communications Upgrade. We will be talking about the financing later. Niles Radio has the wheels moving. d. Appreciation Dinner The Appreciation Dinner will be January 30th. e. Fire Chief Magazine Article Chief Howard stated that there is an article in Fire Chief Magazine the he and Keith Klassen put together. He put a copy of it in the Board Packets. f. Other Don stated that today B shift had a chance to go over with Squirt and Blaze to give awards to the classes that won the poster contest. Squirt and Blaze did a great job with the contest and he told the Board that if they get a chance they should see their Public Education show. Dan Atkinson stated that maybe some time it could be taped so they could see it. 9. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Training Facility Chief Howard stated that he wanted to show the Board the drawings of the training facility. We are at Step 4. We had the Public Meeting and we had one person show up. He was concerned that we were going to build something much larger than this. He was comfortable by the end of the meeting that this is what it would look like. We would like to get on the Planning and Zoning agenda by January. Don stated that he wanted to get the Board updated on this process. 10. NEW BUSINESS a. Introduction of Brant Baber Chief Howard stated that Brant Baber was not here tonight. Brant is the Eagle Scout who made the marquee sign outside Station 32. We will try to have him at the next meeting. 11. ACTION ITEMS a. Presentation of Summit and Fort Valley Audits by Alex Tkatchov. This was done earlier in the meeting. b. Communication Project Financing Tina Dillahunty presented the Board with the proposals she has received for the Communications Upgrade. Brickhouse Capital has a rate of 5.27%. Balboa Capital has a rate of 5.95% and National Bank has a rate of 4.21%. The proposals are for $140,000 for 5 years with 2 payments per year. Tina stated that her recommendation is National Bank. They have the lowest rate with no pre payment penalty and no extra fees. There was a motion by Rick Parker to finance the Communications Upgrade Project with a lease purchase agreement through National Bank of Arizona-Zion’s Bank Public Finance at 4.21% for 5 years with 2 payments per year. There was a second by Jerry Loynachan. There was a call for discussion. Chief Howard stated that this is through Lee Davis. We have had many dealings with him. Don stated that they are the best to deal with. A vote was called for and the vote in favor was unanimous. c. Health Insurance Chief Howard stated that we don’t have all the final information. We are still waiting for Starmark to provide us with figures. We need to make a decision. Our policy ends on the 31st. Don discussed how Starmark gave a quote but put that it would change based on medical information from each employee. Don stated that this was discussed last month. If we stay with the same program we currently have we would look to pay $53,512 more or a 30% increase over what we pay now. We are looking at what options are available. We have listed these four different options. Don stated that we think option 2 is most viable and most workable. Don stated that with this option the Department would pay for the $1500 deductable plan and a portion of the $500 deductable plan if the employee chose to buy up. If the employee chose to go with the HSA account the department would put the amount in his account. The Board would decide the amount. Tina has used ½ the rate change for these figures. Don went over the figures on the options. Gary Selig asked if the staff has looked at this. Don stated that the issue currently is that the program expires at midnight on December 31st. Don stated that he doesn’t think the numbers are going to favor Starmark. Don stated that looking at option 3 and 4; we don’t feel those are good options. Tina Dillahunty went over the differences in the two plans and the deductibles. Rick Parker asked if there is going to be input from line personnel. Mike Boehm stated that Benefit Logic will meet with his crew next week to discuss health insurance. Tina stated that those meetings are to sign employees up for whatever insurance the Board decides we should go with. Don stated that these are our options. Do you want to continue the plan we have? We can go with the other options. Option 2 cuts in half the difference between the $1500 deductable and the $500 deductable. Rick stated that we could put it in your court and direct you to discuss it with the line personnel and come to a consensus. Dan Atkinson asked who would be the consensus. Rick stated that the Chief and the line personnel would discuss the insurance and come up with a consensus. There was further discussion of the insurance. Battalion Chief Lobstein stated that no one has enough information to make a decision. He proposed having a special meeting for the insurance. Mike Boehm stated that they have a crew meeting on Friday and none of the crew wants the medical insurance to decrease or to pay for anything. There was further discussion of the insurance. Don discussed how the cost of the insurance has increased. Don stated that the Board might remember how we were tied in with Premier when they went bankrupt and then we went with Blue Cross/ Blue Shield. We need to take into account the provider directory. Eric stated that he can agree with the Board Chairman that we are between a rock and a hard place. Eric stated with this lack of information it is difficult personally to make a decision. He would prefer the Board to pay the increase this year and look at this earlier next year. Rick Parker stated that we need to look at next year sooner to see what we really need. Joann Benninghoff stated that since she has worked here the Department has tried to give the best insurance they could afford. This huge jump in one year has made a difference at how it needs to be looked at. There was a discussion of how this increase would affect some of the things we do. There was further discussion of the health care. Gary Selig stated as an informal comment that we need to work ahead of time as a group. Maybe we need to ask the Union next year to participate in looking at insurance. If we could get the figures and input early enough we could get this earlier. Chief Howard stated that we have talked about this increase and people were made aware of the 30% increase in coverage. We have looked at as many options as Benefit Logic could provide us. There was further discussion of the options. It was discussed that we have three options. We could pay for the increase and keep going as we have done in the past. We could choose option 2 and have the employee pick up part of the cost or we could allow the Chief to make the decision after we get the final figures from Starmark. Paul Simpson asked if we went with option 2 this year or next year it doesn’t go up or the economy stabilizes would we get a break and the employee not pay. Rick Parker wanted to know if the employees are satisfied with what we have now. Jim Doskocil stated that with the lack of information and insurance numbers he would like to leave it as it is now and hopefully next year we can get ahead of the game. Don stated that we did look into the Northern Arizona Public Employee Group Trust but the cost of insurance was $100 more than what we are paying. There was a motion by Rick Parker to stay with the current insurance coverage through Blue Cross/ Blue Shield. There was a second by Gary Selig and the vote was unanimous. Fire Chief Contract There was a discussion of the Fire Chief’s Contract. Chief Howard stated that he doesn’t want to drag this out. He has a great job and works with great people. Don stated that he feels Randy James was out of order and was inaccurate. Some of the things he said were accurate but some were not. We did talk about the differential pay would go away. We talked about it for two years. Don stated that also included in those minutes were statements that the new Fire Board would determine the Chief’s new contract. We are currently in negotiation with the Chief’s contract. I have been here as Fire Chief for 11 years when I came over from Timberline to Doney to take over for a Chief that was a problem. I have been involved in merging departments for 8 ½ years. We have gone from 12 firefighters to 45 firefighters. We have added 3 new stations. Chief Howard talked about the cost of Station 31 and how it cost 1/3 of the station the City of Flagstaff built. We have received a reduction in our ISO rating on both sides of the District. Most employees feel this is good place to work. Don stated that we need to build a stronger foundation under us. We are in a strong financial position as was shown to us by the financial audits. This will get us through the year ahead. When Doney Park came to Timberline-Fernwood they were in debt. Today both Fort Valley and Summit have debt but both are in strong financial positions. We have Advanced Life Support on both sides of the District. We built two stations in Fort Valley in two years when originally we thought it would take five years. Don stated that he doesn’t know if the Board understands how much work it involved. We have Deb Wolf to thank for much of that work. Don stated that it is the challenges that we face that give our life’s purpose. Don stated that it was not part of his contract to get Fort Valley going. The Administration worked for free for the first year. We charged them a nominal amount to create the department. Randy James talked about all the staff that we have. We have been short staffed as an Administration. We have done more with less for many years. Don stated that he is proud of our Administration. We need to recognize that the Administration has morale that needs to be addressed as well. Don stated that we heard something earlier that was inappropriate. We can look at all the grants we have acquired. We have a Wildland Division that has generated almost 3 million dollars in the last eight years. Don stated that he has tried to be creative and to provide flexible leadership. Don stated that what I do well is work hard and that he is addicted to work. Don stated that typically he does that for everyone but himself and his family. Don stated that he is proud to be the Fire Chief here and looks forward to getting a foundation built. Don stated that the Board offered pay of $107,000 which is $10,000 less than what he was getting on October 31st. Don stated he is willing to work for less because there will be less meetings and such but he feels it is unfair. Don stated that he feels he is being penalized because of our success. Don stated that he would counter with $112,000. That amount is comparable to Fire Chief’s of similar districts, many who have worked decades less. Jerry Loynachan handed out a statement that he read to the Board Members. Following is the statement Jerry gave to the Board: December 12, 2009 As the Summit Board entered into the recent discussions regarding the compensation package requested by Chief Don Howard I was prepared to agree to a salary that I thought was fair. Frankly, my considerations were based on Chief Howard's performance as Chief of the FVFD and my observations while serving on the FVFD fire board and I was not prepared for the dynamics which drove the decisions which led to the board's proposal. At this time, I realized I needed to adjust my thinking and look at the issue from the eyes of a Summit board member. One of the first things I decided to do was to examine the Summit board performance evaluations of the Chief and was informed they did not exist. Since the board elected not to formally evaluate him, I can only assume they were satisfied and had no complaints as to the discharge of his duties. Don has been a driving force behind the changes which have occurred over the past 11 years, as the original department formed in Doney Park with 12 employees, has grown to 49 employees and 5 fire stations. I can only assume that this was a very unique experience and during this time with the many land acquisitions from governmental and private individuals, Don has an unequaled understanding of the financial, as well as legal, aspects of building a fire department. In addition, due to the countless times he has appeared in front of the County Board of Supervisors with another building permit in hand, he has developed an important rapport with its members. In short, the contacts he has developed over the years with State and local officials, has to be a great benefit to the SFD. The old adage of, it's not what you know but who you know, definitely applies here. I am certainly appreciative of his efforts on behalf of FVFD and surely the same must be true of board members from Summit who experienced similar transitions. Just out of curiosity, I then entered Chief Howard's name on Google and received 25 hits. The sources ranged from his active participation in the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association, several magazine articles in which he is featured, the Arizona Wildfire and Incident Management Academy for which he is the founder and now trains 1000 people a year. In addition, he is mentioned as the AFCA Fire Chief of the Year in 2003 and another site announced his election to the Arizona Fire Hall of Fame. When I Goggled the other Fire Chiefs of comparable fire districts some were not mentioned at all and none came remotely close to the number of references touting Chief Howard's accomplishments. In regards to the actual salary, I was perplexed by the Fire Chief being placed on a step pay index. I was in education for 33 years and while my salary as a classroom teacher was on a step index, no School Board would place itself in a position not to have the flexibility to be able to offer a salary competitive enough to hire an outstanding candidate or retain a valued employee. In most cases, a Chief's salary is listed by a fire district as a low/high range, but I don't believe anyone of the present board seriously believes that we could hire a new Chief anywhere close to the $72,620 listed on Step 1 of the index, so I can only assume the document means nothing, yet apparently it has been the instrument to justify the freeze of the Chief's salary for 3 years. In the information we have received, the salaries for comparable district Fire Chiefs cap out at a mode of $118,000; however, consider the fact that these districts consist of only 1-2 stations to manage and the typical range of experience for these same Fire Chiefs is 3 years compared to Chief Howard's 29 years. Consequently, in a fire district with 1-2 stations and a Chief with 3 years experience, they will be making $118,000 a year, or $11,000 more than the contract offered to Chief Howard at the same point in their careers. In closing, I would like to add my impression that in the past there seems to have been individual Summit Board members who have elected to usurp their responsibilities as a board member by attempting to micromanage the department. This is most unfortunate for not only is this behavior self-serving but it causes the staff to act to, and not act on a given issue. This not only puts the staff on the defense but results in additional stress and additional time to their work load. This is a new board and a new beginning and I hope this means new horizons. I bring this up only to provide a basis for my observations that during these turbulent times I have never witnessed Chief Howard react with the board members with anything but respect and professionalism. Perhaps this one single quality reflects, more than all of the above, the high standards he has set for himself as well as anyone who would follow in his position. Respectfully submitted Jerry Loynachan Summit Board Member Rick Parker stated that he did go through the minutes from the past meetings. Rick stated that some of what Randy said went way overboard. Some of it was verbatim. It was stated in the minutes that if we did merge we would save the administrative fee. Don stated that the administrative fee is a different line item. Rick stated that it was said that if we merge we would save money. Don, Tina and Joann would give up the differential pay. Rick stated that this has nothing to do with the Chief personally but with what the facts are. Rick stated to the Chief that he said he would give up the differential pay and the new Summit Board would determine his contract. Rick stated he feels like the Chief is going in the back door. The $15,000 differential pay would go away but he wants a raise. Rick stated that they discussed at the last meeting giving the Chief a 5% raise. Rick stated that he is thinking about the finances right now. He wants everyone to know what is on the table. Don stated that it was his choice not to go into executive session. Rick stated that he is not saying no but just wants to bring everyone up to speed. Don stated that there was discussion that the differential pay would go away but there are statements in four or five places that the new Summit Board would determine his contract. Dan Atkinson stated that the Board has already determined that the step system would go away for the Chief. His salary will be determined by the Board. Jim Doskocil stated that we can hear from the public. There are several cards regarding this issue. Gary Selig stated that it is a matter of the word interpretation. Some of the discussion during the budget discussions and the public meeting were said in front of the public. The differential pay was going away and there would be a reduction in administrative cost. Don stated that we stated the administrative fee would be going away. That is what we are talking about. Don discussed the percent the department charged Fort Valley for administration. Jim Doskocil stated that the Chief’s salary was at $102,000 and the differential pay was like a second job and it went away. Jim stated to the Chief that he was against having a step increase and keeping the mil rate the same for this year. The economic climate hasn’t changed and asked the Chief if he is ok with it. Jim stated that they came up with the 5% raise because it is what the rest of the received. That is what the whole Board was looking at. Jim stated that it was not to make you feel like less of a Chief. Rick Parker stated that along that same line is the statement that you make less than before. Rick stated that he feels like it was the Chief’s idea and he is implying that it is the Board’s fault. There was further discussion of the statement of the differential pay going away and the new Board will determine the Chief’s contract. Don stated that he does not understand what reference that has to the contract. Rick stated that he is open for discussion. Don stated that he understood 100% that the differential pay would go away and also he understood that he would negotiate the new Chief contract with the new Summit Board. Dan Atkinson stated that there has been a misunderstanding. We know the differential pay is going away. My understanding is we have a clean slate with the Chief. He is not on the step system anymore and it is encouraging to hear from the Board that they are thinking about $112,000. Dan stated that he was thinking about $117,000 and that would be a 0 increase for three years. We have put this off before and tonight we don’t have to put it off. We can set his salary at anything we want. Dan discussed the salary ranges on the Chief salary comparison. Dan stated that the Chief’s salary has always been historically low. Dan stated that he feels we should pay him $117,000. Battalion Chief Mike Boehm stated that he has heard a number of times that Don is a great Chief. He leads with a lot of integrity. He has been a Chief for 29 years and brings with him a wealth of knowledge. Mike discussed some of the knowledge the Chief has brought to Summit. Mike stated that he has put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes and he has put Summit on the map. Don is a people person. That is a big part of what makes Don a successful leader. You are negotiating a new contract with the Chief. You are starting new and you should pay him what he is worth. Deb Wolf stated that when she left the Board she felt good knowing that the five new Board members would make a good Board. Deb stated that she trusts all of them to look inside and do the right and ethical thing. Deb stated that she had to think about it when someone let her know the Chief had asked for more money. Deb stated she knew the differential pay was going away. Deb stated that if we hadn’t merged doesn’t mean he couldn’t come to the table and negotiate his pay. Deb stated that she has worked with the Chief for many years and has seen what it took to run the meetings. Deb stated that if you took out the extra meetings it would probably be about $3500. Everything else extra is still there. There are still extra employees, stations and grants. When you look at the hundreds of thousands of dollars the Chief has brought into the District it is easy to say that he is a really great Chief. Deb stated that you can look at how great he is with the employees and how respected he is throughout the State. Deb stated that the differential pay went away and the Chief is asking for a raise. Deb stated that she knows that we need to balance the budget but if we have to replace the Chief it would be hard to replace his leadership, drive, work ethic and commitment. Tina Dillahunty stated that much of what she wanted to comment on has been said. Tina stated that she would like to clarify some facts Randy James stated in his comments. Tina stated that Peggy has never worked 30 hours. She worked 15 hours the first year and now works 20 hours a week. Randy commented on being careful about increasing the pay of someone on step 10 because there are others who are on step 10 and you need to be cautious of a lawsuit. The Fire Chief position is the only contract position in the department and does not fall under the same regulations as regular employees. The Board sets the Chief’s Salary and it sounds like the Board has made the determination not to have the Chief on the Step schedule. The differential pay that Randy discussed was from the Fort Valley Contract and the amount included the retirement and taxes the department had to pay so those amounts he read were not accurate for what Don Howard, Tina Dillahunty, and Joann Benninghoff received for differential pay. Tina stated that Don Howard has been a member of the Department for over 30 years and he has brought this department a long way. Don has high moral and ethical values and requires the same from his Summit employees. His leadership style has taken our department where we are today with five stations and 49 full time employees. Don has developed an excellent relationship with agencies and organizations throughout the State including the Governor’s Office. His efforts to build good working relationships with other agencies and organizations has helped to get us wildland assignments and to bring in revenue and he has been successful in writing grants that have helped the department in many ways. I believe that this and many other things show all of us within the department and outside our department that we have a highly qualified Fire Chief and an excellent department. We have worked to bring up the salaries of the Fire fighters and Captains by looking at what other departments are paying. Should we do any less for the leader of our organization? The survey shows what other Chief’s are making and I think the Fire Board should consider the survey and what the Chief should be paid. Anita Howard stated that she felt she needed to speak on Don’s behalf because she might be the only one. Anita thanked everyone for speaking up for Don. Anita stated that Don has dedicated himself to this department and this community for three decades. Anita stated that this is about the recognition for all he has given to this Department for so long. Anita stated that she is glad to hear what was said at the meeting. Don has given 110% to the Department and she would like to see his salary based on what he brings to the department. Things like high moral standard and respect. Don always treats everyone with respect. Chief Howard stated that he appreciates the comments. Don stated that he understands that being a Board Member is a thankless job. Don stated that this is not about me, it is about us. Don stated that he wants our Department to make great strides forward. We have a lot to accomplish and he wants us on the right foot. Don stated that these guys are my family away from home. We don’t always agree and it is a healthy thing to be able to talk to each other respectfully. Don stated that he has one of the greatest jobs in the world. Don stated that he is thankful to spend his days here. Jerry Loynachan stated that he is disappointed in the Chief’s counter offer. He stated that he feels it should be more but he feels he has to go with what the Chief offered. There was a motion by Jerry Loynachan to accept the Chief’s Counter offer and have the Chief salary in the new Chief’s Contract effective January 1, 2010 to be $112,000. There was a second by Gary Selig. There was a call for further discussion. Rick Parker stated that Don’s current contract is not up and stated that when they discussed the firefighter’s salary the Chief did not want to give raises. A vote was called for and the vote in favor was unanimous. It was stated that this was a good healthy meeting and we are glad we could afford the health insurance for the year. Rick Parker stated that he wants everyone to know that he agrees with everything everyone said about Don. 12. CALL TO THE PUBLIC There was no answer to the call to the public. 13. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion to adjourn by Rick Parker and a second by Gary Selig . The vote was unanimous and the meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Tina Dillahunty |
8905 N. Koch Field Rd. Flagstaff, AZ 86004 E-mail: sfdadm@infomagic.net
Phone: (928) 526-9537
Fax: (928) 526-2750
Fax: (928) 526-2750