Regular Meeting 03-27-18 Page 1 of 5 Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Verde Valley Fire District Meeting Held March 27, 2018 A Regular meeting of the Verde Valley Fire District Board of Directors was held on March 27, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at the Verde Valley Fire District Station #31, 2700 E. Godard Road, Cottonwood, Arizona. Board of Directors: Bob Eddingfield, Chairman Ken Bishop, Board Clerk Linda Quam Thomas Rhodes Jim Elmer Staff Present: Nazih Hazime, Fire Chief Joe Moore, Assistant Fire Chief Lisa Elliott, Administrative Manager Matt Robertson, Captain Karen Maddy, Administrative Support Joyce Driscoll, Administrative Assistant Others Present: Gary Svider and J.D. Maddy. CALL TO ORDER - The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chairman Eddingfield. ROLL CALL All members were present. A quorum was present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Those present stood and recited the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. MOMENT OF SILENCE A moment of silence for firefighters who have lost their lives. A moment of silence was observed for the three U.S. firefighters who lost their lives in the last month. ORDER OF THE AGENDA Discussion and consideration of changing the order of the agenda. There was no change to the order of the agenda. MINUTES Discussion and consideration of the minutes of the Regular meeting Executive Session held on February 27, 2018. Board Member Quam moved to approve the minutes of the Regular meeting and Executive Session and held on February 27, 2018. Board Member Rhodes seconded. The motion passed unanimously. EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION Recognition of an employee reaching five-years of service. Chief Hazime read a short biography of Administrative Support Karen Maddy and presented her with a pin for her 5 years of part-time service. Board Member Elmer thanked both Karen and her husband, J.D., who were instrumental in restoring the Clarkdale Fire District antique parade truck.
Regular Meeting 03-27-18 Page 2 of 5 CALL TO THE PUBLIC None. FINANCIAL REPORTS Discussion and consideration of the financial report for the previous month (including ambulance billing). Administrative Manger Lisa Elliott reviewed the financial reports and reported on the following: The quarterly accounting review from the District s accountant. $613.65 is being held in accounts payable until a project the District s IT vendor is responsible for is completed. The Cash Flow Projection report and that the estimated cash balance should always be a positive number. The Balance Sheet and that the total checking and savings account numbers should tie back into the cash flow projections report. The number of billable transports has decreased from January to February by 40 transports; however, the overall report is comparable to last year. The Property Tax Collection report has been revised. The unemployment tax rate, which was calculated too high, has been corrected this month. Board Member Quam inquired about using the Ambulance Account to make payroll payments. Administrative Manager Elliott explained that electronic payments cannot be made from the General Fund because Yavapai County does not have the capability of this with the accounts they manage. Therefore, the District uses the Ambulance Account to run electronic payments through. Board Member Elmer inquired about wildland revenue and expenses. Administrative Manager Elliott explained that all expenses are billed, including backfill for staffing who are deployed. Board Member Elmer inquired about repairs to a fire engine being charged to the Capital Projects account rather than vehicle maintenance. Administrative Manager Elliott explained that the rebuilding of the engine was a large expense and it will extend the useful life of the vehicle; therefore, it made sense to use Capital Projects. She added that the expense will be added to the Capital Asset schedule and will be depreciated over time. Chief Hazime noted that the District expenses are 13.7% under budget. Board Clerk Bishop made a motion to approve the Financial Reports. Board Member Elmer seconded. The motion passed unanimously. REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE Chairperson s Report A report from the Chairperson on his activities for the District over the past month. No report. Board Member Reports Reports from the members of the Board on their activities for the District over the past month. No report. Chief s Report A report from the Fire Chief on current events and his activities for the past month, including, but not limited to: Public relations, meetings and events attended, incident call
Regular Meeting 03-27-18 Page 3 of 5 volume, specific incidents, training and the Community Integrated Paramedicine (CIP) program. Referencing his written report, Chief Hazime reported on the following: 2015 Rosenbauer Engine Case update it was picked-up to go to Rosenbauer for repairs. Once the repairs are completed, Rosenbauer will fly out a District employee to inspect the engine before it is returned. It was noted that the engine has been out-of-service for 6-months now and out-of-service off and on since it was purchased. Communications equipment is being relocated in Jerome to save rental costs. The monthly Incident Report. A structure fire in Bridgeport, which was challenging. The District was on-scene 11 hours, all Verde Valley agencies assisted. The bid packet for the purchase of a new engine has been sent to the attorney for review. The Surplus Property Report, there were no changes this month. A public information flyer regarding Wildland education in English and Spanish. Status of an apparatus having the engine rebuilt. Visualization of space that would remain in the training room if two new offices were constructed on one end. A future remodel idea to expand into the parking area. Assistant Chief s Report A report from the Assistant Chief on current events and activities for the past month, including, but not limited to: Public relations, meetings, and events attended, training, permits issued/closed, and inspections. Assistant Chief Moore referenced his written report and shared the following: Classes and meetings he attended. Leadership training he did with the crews. Inspections completed and permits issued (already issued 50% of last year s permits). The new Fire Inspector and what tasks she is working on. Calls for service he responded to. Update on the Civil Engineering for wastewater extension and Highway 89A improvements. Working on the Request for Proposals to select a contractor for the Construction Manager at Risk for the new Clarkdale Fire Station architectural project. NEW BUSINESS Board Meeting Date/Time Discussion and consideration of changing the Board s regular meeting date and/or time. Board Member Rhodes stated that he would like to move the Board meeting time to 3:00 p.m. Board Member Rhodes made a motion to change the starting time of the Regular Board Meeting to 3:00 p.m. Board Clerk Bishop seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Personnel Policy Changes Discussion and possible approval of Resolution #2018-04 adopting changes to the Personnel Policies and Guidelines Manual revising the following sections: Sick Leave, Vacation Leave, and Uniform Regulations. Chief Hazime explained that termination means an employee leaving employment for any reason. He explained that when an employee separates from employment, he or she has the option to have all of their sick leave payout go into their Post-Employment Health Plan (PEHP) or to have one-half of their sick leave payout go into their PEHP and one-half be paid in cash. Chief Hazime stated that the policy did not give retiring employees the same option; they had to put all of their sick leave payout into their PEHP. Administrative Manager Elliott explained that one of the proposed changes to the policy would allow
Regular Meeting 03-27-18 Page 4 of 5 retirees to have the same choice as other terminating employees. It was noted that the additional cost to the District is minimal; it would only be the cost of the employer taxes for the cash payout. Board Clerk Bishop made a motion to adopt Resolution #2018-04 adopting changes to the Personnel Policies and Guidelines Manual revising the following sections: Sick Leave, Vacation Leave, and Uniform Regulations. Board Member Elmer seconded the motion. Discussion followed regarding the proposed changes to the Uniform Regulations and that although personnel are allowed to wear wildland pants on incidents, it does not allow personnel to wear these pants all of the time or in lieu of structure pants when turn-out gear is appropriate for safety. The motion passed unanimously. Authorized Bank Signers Discussion and possible approval of Resolution #2018-05 authorizing Verde Valley Fire District Board Members as signatories for a District bank account. Chief Hazime noted that this is a requirement from the bank. Board Member Rhodes made a motion to approve Resolution #2018-05 authorizing Verde Valley Fire District Board Members as signatories for a District bank account. Board Clerk Bishop seconded. The motion passed unanimously. GY2018-2019 Budget Presentation and discussion of the FY2018-2019 budget process, timeline, the budget document format and preliminary budget information. Chief Hazime noted that the budget format has changed, it is now divided into divisions, and each division will provide a narrative in the budget packet. Chief Hazime explained sample spreadsheets. It was noted that a budget meeting will be held with Staff on April 3 rd and then a Budget Committee meeting will be scheduled. Public Records/Electronic Devices Discussion and possible direction to Staff regarding electronic public records and the possible purchase of electronic devices for Board Member use. Chief Hazime stated that he had a conversation with the District s attorney, who stated that the District is handling email correctly by having it go through the District s server. The attorney noted that in 30 years there has only been two incidences where public officials had personal devices confiscated. Board Member Elmer stated that nothing illegal is occurring. He stated that the only instance he can think of regarding a Board Member emailing District documents would be if a Board Member sent their evaluation of the Fire Chief to the Chairman. He added that this is not a problem as long as Staff is copied so the document is appropriately filed. Assistant Chief Moore explained that Board Member Rhodes has expressed concern in the past because he receives District emails on his business computer, and if there was ever an acquisition of wrongdoing, and his computer was taken, it would shut down his business. Board Member Rhodes stated that he still plans to buy another computer to use only for District business. Board Member Rhodes stated that he believes that everyone on the Board should have a District computer in order to save staff time in copying Board packets. The consensus was that the Board does not want to commit to buying District computers for all the Board Members. Chairman Eddingfield stated that he feels the District should reimburse Board Member Rhodes if he purchases a separate computer for District business.
Regular Meeting 03-27-18 Page 5 of 5 Future Agenda Items A listing of items to be placed on a future agenda. The following item was listed: Public records/electronic devices (Elmer/Rhodes) ADJOURNMENT. With no further business before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 11:26 p.m. Submitted By: Joyce Driscoll, Administrative Assistant Approved: Bob Eddingfield, Chairman Attest: Ken Bishop, Board Clerk