Fire Dept. Consolidation FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
November 26, 1991 New Hope City Hall
7:00 p.m. 4401 XylonAve. No.
New Hope, MN 55428
C~ll to Order
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was called to
order by Temporary Chair and Facilitator Frank Quisenberry
at 7:00 p.m.
Roll Call/Introductions
Present: Jack Irving, Crystal Councilmember
Elmer Carlson, Crystal Councilmember
(substituting for Betty Herbes, Crystal MayOr)
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fornier, New Hope Fire Department
Frank Quisenberry, Crystal Citizen, Temporary
Chair andFacilitator
Michael Barone, Crystal Employee - Consolidation
Committee Staff.
Absent: Rusty Demeules, New Hope Citizen Member
Temporary Chair Frank Quisenberry expressed an interest in
accomplishing three items for the initial meeting:
I. Introductions, II. Bring forth the issues, agenda
items and concerns for the purpose of possibly sharing
services and/or merging the two fire departments. III.
Organize the committee on what it intends to do in future
meetings.
I. Introductions were done by going around thetable,
stating your name and position/interest in being on the
committee.
II. Concerns of the Committee Members:
1. How serious is the discussion? What "humps" will
the committee have to overcome (pay, benefits,
pensions).
2. How do we provide a different/better level of
service at or near the expenditures/resources that
currently exist?
3. Can we have a cost savings and not sacrifice
existing services?
4. If cost savings not found, would we continue to
pursue consolidation?
5. A list of advantages and disadvantages needs to be
listed. This list should provide some answers as
to whether or not consolidation is feasible.
6. If merger is currently feasible, should we set-up
a plan to implement a merger five years down the
road, as an example?
7. We should thoroughly study the situation,
maintaining a continuum of cooperation that
currently exists. Also, study some of the other
fire department mergers that have taken place in
the last 5-10 years. Ex: Anoka/Champlin and
Centennial.
S. Look at the possibility of a Joint Powers
Agreement to facilitate the consolidationprocess.
9. Maintain the trust and respect that currently
exists within both fire departments and maintain
the congenial relationship that currently exists
between both cities' fire departments.
10. Lock at impact of a possible consolidation on pay,
benefits, pensions, relief associations, etc.
11. Look at balancing any consolidation and cost
savings versus the morale and resources of the
firefighters. (job security)
12. In light of the many demands placed on fire
departments and cities in the past few years by
the federal government, state government and
county government, how can a different level of
service be provided to the citizens of our
communities?
13. How can a continuous improvement of service be
achieved in the future, keeping in mind the
quality in perception by the public, and the
quality in fact (dollars and cents)?
14. Compare the by-laws of both departments so all
items of interest are covered and approved in a
set of by-laws for a proposed consolidated
department.
III. Behavioral Ground rules for Committee:
The following behavioral ground rules were agreed upon
by the committee members:
- Open meetings, run informally - allowing for a
free flow of information.
- No hidden agendas by any of the committee members
throughout the process.
- Roughly a two hour time limit for each meeting,
with one meeting per month. Also, a review to
assess the progress of the committee should occur
at six months, or around May 1992.
- Okay to bring in outside information sources and
guests that have expertise in certain, pertinent
areas relevant to the group's discussion.
- Recognize that the position you currently hold in
your organization requires that you take certain
positions and responsibilities on the issues at
hand.
- Committee should function as a "Committee of the
Whole." The only subcommittees allowed will be
the ones created and designated by the whole
group; no informal subcommittees allowed. The
purpose here is to avoid any type of "lobbying"
aspect to emerge as a hindrance to the progress of
the group.
- By consensus, it was approved by the committee
that Mayor Ed Erickson of New Hope and Mayor Pete
Meintsma of Crystal or his designee would be co-
chairs of ~he committee, and that the
responsibility of running ~he meetings would
rotate wi~h the location site month to month
between the two cities.
- By consensus, the meeting minutes and agendas
would be prepared by the staff me~ber to ~his
committee, Michael Barone, Crystal Employee.
Respectfully Submitted
January ?, 1992,
Michael Barone
CITY ',./,J CRYSTAL 4141 Douglas Drive North · Crystal, MN 55422-1696 · 537-8421
ADMINISTRATW~ OFFICE
Memorandum
DATE: January 8, 1992
TO: Pete Meintsma, Mayor of Crystal
Jack Irving, Councilmember
Frank Quisenberry, Facilitator
Kevin McGinty, Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Fire Department
Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, Mayor of New Hope
Gary L'Herault, Councilmember
Doug Smith, Fire Chief
Don Fournier, Fire Department
Rusty Demeules, Citizen Member
FROM: Jerry Dulgar, City Manager of Crystal
Dan Donahuer City Manager of New Hope
SUBJECT: Joint Meeting
Tuesday, January 14, 1992
A joint meeting with members of the City of Crystal and the
city of New Hope Fire Consolidation Committee will be held
on Tues.&y, J~u&~ 14, 1992 at ? ~.m. at
Crystal City Hall
4141 Douglas Drive
Council Chambers.
Please call me (Jerry) at 537-8421 to let me know if you
will not be in attendance.
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
January 14, 1992 Crystal City Hall
7:00 p.m. 4141 Douglas Drive
Crystal, MN 55422
Call to Order
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was called to order by
Crystal Mayor Pro Tem Jack Irving at 7:10 p.m.
Roll Call/Introductions
Present: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro rem
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fornier, New Hope Fire Department
Michael Barone, Crystal Employee'- Committee Staff
Absent: Rusty Demeules, New Hope Citizen Member
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Frank Quisenberry, Committee Facilitator
Meetinq
The committee viewed the Video "The Power of Paradigms" by Joel
Barker. The video concernedhow organizations react/respond to change
in the world. Mr. Barker gave many examples and gave many definitions
to explain his theories.
The minutes of the November 26, 1991 meeting were moved for approval
by Dan Donahue, seconded by Kevin McGinty, as submitted.
Motion Carried.
Some additional concerns of committee members were expressed:
o It was reiterated by Dan Donahue that pay and benefits
cannot be decreased for any Fire Department personnel as
discussion of this process moves forward.
o Itwas mentioned by Kevin McGinty that most Fire Department
personnel have a "wait and see" attitude concerning a
possible merger. They don't have any real concrete reasons
at this point to not be in favor of a merger of services,
but once the mechanics of the possible merger are
delineated, they will be able to react to them.
It was agreed upon that construction of a Mission Statement and
objectives for the committee should be tabled until th-e February
meeting in order to have Frank Quisenberry facilitate this process.
It was suggested by Jerry Dulgar that there are a number of issues on
where to begin discussion of the mechanics of a merger. The committee
felt that at least to begin, a review of the organizational structure
of each of the Fire Departments, and each department's current
equipment inventory, as well as future needs for equipment, would be
appropriate to discuss for the February meeting. Chiefs McGinty and
Smith will meet, along with committee staff Mike Barone, to prepare
,materials for discussion on these topics for the February meeting.
The committee decided that the next meeting date and time will be set
after Jerry Dulgar talks with Frank Quisenberry so Mr. Quisenberry can
be in attendance for the Mission Statement work portion of the
February meeting.
Jerry Dulgar moved to adjourn the meeting. Dan Donahue seconded the
motion. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Barone
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, February 25, 1992 New Hope Fire Station
7:00 p.m. 4251 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428
I. Gall to Order
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was
called to order by New Hope Mayor Ed Erickson at
7:20 p.m. The meeting started late due to the
tour of the New Hope Fire Station.
Present: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro-Tem
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Dept.
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fournier, New Hope Citizen Member
Frank Quisen~erry, Committee Facilitator
Mike Barone, Committee Staff
Absent: Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Rusty Demeules, New Hope Citizen Memb;er
It was moved by Jerry Dulgar and seconded by Gary
L'Herault to approve the minutes, as submitted,
from the January 14, 1992 meeting.
Motion carried.
IV. Mission Statement
Frank Quisenberry facilitated this process.
Frank read the "Visioning Exercise S,~mmary" done
at the November 1991 meeting. The group captured
these t. hemes from this exercise: Daytime
response; Common Code Enforcement; High profile
depar~.ment; E~uipment; Common Territory with
resources; Customer satisfaction;
Management/leadership/Positive work culture;
Training; Fire Prevention/Education; Long-term
Planning; Size of department with efficient .use of
resources; Cost effective department; Ability to
attract/keep highly qualified firefighters.
Frank also re-read the "Concerns of the Committee
Members" done at the November 1991 meeting. A
three-fold statement of Mission for the committee
emerged from these concerns, which will include
the purpose of the committee, the customers
served, and what the committee plans to do to
justify its existence.
Mission Statement
The joint Fire Services Consolidation Committee,
comprised of members from both the City of Crystal
and City of NeW Hope, propose to gather data and
information, develop criteria to evaluate the data
and inf6rmation gathered, analyze this data and
information, and then make recommendations to the
respective City Councils as to the feasibility,
extent, and cost-effectiveness of consolidating
fire services between the Cities of Crystal and
New Hope.
Goals of the Committee
1. Gather current data on Resources.
Most of the data that needs to be gathered
falls into these major categories:
A. Equipment/Maintenance
B. Labor/Skills/Training
C. Emergency Responses
D. Fire Prevention
2. Develop criteria to review/analyze data byI
involving the major stakeholders in the
process: City Councils, Fire Departments,
citizens in both communities, and outside
organizations and agencies that set forth
standards to be met in operating a combined
~ department. Information from previous fire
department consolidations in the region would
be beneficial to our process, as well.
3. S~mmarize, analyze, and make recommendations
that could be incorporated into a long range
plan as to the future needs of a combined
fire department.
V. Report from Fire Chiefs
Kevin McGinty and Doug Smith presented some
information to the committee members, using some
overhead projections, to show currently what each
department has for major equipment, the age of the
equipment, an organization chart, and an overview
of each department's appropriations for the past
few years.
Committee members expressed a desire to see
"apples" compared to "apples" in order to further
evaluate the finances of each department for the
next joint meeting. Information wanted from =he
financial reports would concern salaries, training
expenses, response times, number of calls,
contributions toward benefits and relief
associations, etc.
VI. No other business
VII. Next Meetin~
Nex~ joint meeting will be held on Tuesday, March
10, 1992 at Crystal City Hall at 7:00 9.m. The
committee agreed to meet the second Tuesday of
each month. This meeting deviated from our
initial 91ans to meet on the second Tuesday in
order to accommodate Facilitator Frank
Quisenberry.
VIII. Adjournment
It was moved by Jack Irving and seconded by Kevin
McGinty to adjourn the meeting. The meeting
adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Barone
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, March 10, 1992 City of Crystal
7:00 p.m. South Conference Room
4141 Douglas Drive North
Crystal, MN 55422
I. Call to Order:
Co-chairs Irving and Erickson absent. The meeting
began at 7:20 p.m.
Present: Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fournier, New Hope Fire Dept.
Rusty Demeules, Citizen Member
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Michael Barone, Committee Staff
Absent: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro-Tem
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Dept.
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Frank Quisenberry, Committee Facilitator
No formal action taken on approving minutes from
Febrl/ary 23,' 1992. :
IV. Reuort from Fire Chiefs
Both Fire Chiefs distributed budget summaries.
Submit=ed were the 1992 budget summary for Crystal
and ~he ac=ual 1991 expenses for New Hope. Also
provide(! by Chief McGinty was a Fire Department
Personnel Summary as prepared by Steve Longaecker.
The summary details the firefighter certification
level, medical response training, and Haz-Mat
emergency response training for Crystal's
firefighters.
Chief Smith from New Hope distributed a summary of
the New Hope Fire Department activities for 1991
generated by their Prober Chief program. He
explained a number of the pages to the committee.
V. Time-Line for "Goals of Committee"
Discussion concerning a time-line for "Goals of
Committee" was not formally discussed; and will
probably be discussed at the April 14, 1992
meeting.
VI. other Business
City Managers Dan Donahue and Jerry Dulgar
distributed copies of two letters relating to the
status of both Relief Associations with a possible
merger. One letter was from Ms. Judith M.
Johnson, General Counsel with the State of
Minnesota's office of the State Auditor addressed
to Mr. Steven A. Sondrall, with the law firm
Corrick & Sondrall, City Attorney for the City of
New Hope. The second letter was from Mr. Sondrall
to both Dan Donahue and Jerry Dulgar.
The essence of these letters advises both City
Managers to "seek the assistance of legal counsel
specializing in pension law to recommend a proper
course of action for the Relief Associations if
the dep&r~ments merge" (copies of letters
enclosed). Both City Managers said they would do
what is recommended by Mr. Sondrall and report
back to the committee in April.
Also, both City Managers advised that they should
meet with both Fire Chiefs and both Finance
Directors for each city to discuss the financial
details of both Fire Departments. The outcome
from this meeting will be presented at the April
meeting, as well.
VII. Next Meetin~
Tuesday, April 14, 1992, at 7:00 p.m. is the next
scheduled committee meeting. The committee will
meet at the New Hope Fire Station, 4251 Xylon
Avenue North, New Hope, MN 55428.
Due to the large number of absent members at this
meeting, Jerry Dulgar recommended that the second
Tuesday format for the joint committee meetings be
discussed at the April meeting to see if this is a
good night to meet, or should the committee 'find
another night.
vzz .
The meeting ended at ~:45 p.m.
Respect fully submitted,
Michael Barone
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE ,AGENDA
for
April 14, 1992 Meeting
1. Call to Order: Co-chair Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Co-chair Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro Tem
2. Roll Call.
3. Approval of February 25, 1992 and March 10, 1992 meeting
minutes.
4. Status of seeking pension law specialist for a course of
action concerning both Relief Associations from City
Managers.
5. Report from meeting of City Managers, Fire Chiefs, and
Finance Directors concerning financial details of both Fire
Departments from City Managers and/or Fire Chiefs.
6. Decide upon timeline for "Goals of Committee", designate
sub-committees and assignments for work in order to satisfy
"Goals".
7. Discussion of "second Tuesday of each month" format .for
joint Meetings._~
8. Other business.
9. Agree on date and select a site within City of crystal for
May meeting.
Tentative "Second Tuesday" date - Tuesday, May 12, 1992
10. Adjournment.
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, April 14, 1992 New'Hope City Hall
7:00 p.m. Downstairs Conference Room
4401 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, MN' 55428
I. Call to Order
Co-chair Jack Irving called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
II. ~
Present: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro rem
Gary Joselyn, Crystal CounCilmember
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fornier, New Hope Fire Department
Michael Barone, Crystal Employee - Committee Staff
Absent: Rusty Demeules, New Hope Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
III. Minutes
It was moved by Jerry Dulgar and seconded by Doug Smith to
approve the minutes, as submitted, from both the February and
March meetings.
Motion Carried.
IV. Pensions/Relief Associations
City Managers DonahUe and Dulgar reported that both Steve
Sondrall and Dave Kennedy are still in the process of gathering
information-on the impact of a potential merger on both Relief
Associations. Dan Donahue noted that there are a number of legal
precedents for reference concerning "dissolutions" of joint
departments in the state, but none on any "consolidations" to
refer to in the pension law area.
It was suggested by. Steve Longaecker that Milo Bennett, Chief of
the Centennial Fire District, be contacted for the purpose of
· finding out what was done in the creation of their Fire District
concerning pensions/relief associations.
V. Financial ReDort ~
Mike Barone prepared some charts comparing the finances of both
Fire Departments for the committee to view. A few questions till
were apparent during the discussion concerning: i) breakout of
hourly wages since both cities pay out their firefighters in
different methods, ii) comparisons between cities on cost for
training and pension contributions, and iii) special items -
such as payments on the recent Hepatitis B vaccinations - on how
they are budgeted/accounted for.
Both City Managers suggested that their assistants, Sherry Draper
from New Hope and Nancy Gohman from Crystal, should meet with the
Finance Directors and pin down the details of the Fire Department
budgets.
VI. "Goals of Committee" Timeline
From the meetings and information gathered from the Finance
Directors and Fire Chiefs, Goal %1 is almost completed, and
should be completed when the meeting between the Finance
Directors and Sherry Draper and Nancy Gohman takes place in May.
Goals #2 and #3 will be discussed in the future, and should be
determined at the next meeting in June.
VII. Meetinq Format
The second Tuesday format will be kept. But, the next meeting
will not be until June sometime. With Jim Otto beginning as
Crystal Finance Director on May 12, and acting Finance Director~
Jessie Hart ready to go on maternity leave sometime in May as
well, the concensus of the committee is to cancel the meeting in
may and meet next in June.
VIII.Other Business
No other business discussed.
IX. Next Meetina
The next meeting, to be held in June, will be decided upon in
late May or early June and information will be mailed to
committee members then.
X. Adtournment
It was moved by Dan Donahue and seconded by Jerry Dulgar to
adjourn the meeting.
Motion Carried.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Barone '
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
J~e 23, 1992 Crystal City Hall
7:00 p.m. 4141 Douglas Drive
Crystal, MN 55422
Call to Order
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was called to order by New
Hope Mayor Ed Erickson.
Roll Call/Introductions
Present~ Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro rem
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Rusty Demeules, New Hope Citizen Member
Absent= Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro rem
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Don Fornier, New Hope Fire Department
Others
Present: Jim Otto, Crystal Finance Director
Nancy Gohman, Crystal Assistant Manager
Sherry Draper, New Hope Administrative Assistant
The minutes of the April 14, 1992 meeting were moved for approval by
Rusty Demeules and seconded by Steve Longaecker as submitted.
Motion Carried.
Nancy Gohman, Assistant Manager from Crystal and Sherry Draper,
Administrative Assistant from New Hope went through the financial
statement regarding 1991 estimated ex]~enditures for fire departments.
A lengthy discussion was held regarding this information. Also
discussed was the donations each organization received and purchased
equipment or items for operations purchases. It was a concensus of
the committee to correct the error in the line item custodian for New
Hope and to add the informationregarding auto insurance in this
summary.
The Committee discussed wages. There were various questions and
concerns regarding the wage schedules. Specifically noting that New
Hope's wages are budgeted in a lump sum and that total lump sum is
paid out to t_he members each year regardless of number of calls. The
difference from Crystal is that Crystal actually uses a wage rate and
pays out those actual wages on a quarterly basis.
The Committee discussed pension. Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
and Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager discussed the letter dated June
17, 1992 regarding a merger of fire departments from attorney Corrine
Heine. The group discussed the importance of this issue regarding
pensions.
Committee member Erickson asked if we (City staff) had shared input
regarding financial material with the fire departments. It was a
concensus of the committee that the Chief's should meet with their
respective departments to go through this report regarding the
financial comparisons in detail and request input from the volunteer
firefighters. It was a concensus of the committee to update and
correct the spreadsheet (minor errors were found) and get it out to
the Chief's so they can arrange for a meeting with their members as
soon as possible. It was also brought up that questions and concerns
stated by the firefighters regarding this issue should be submitted to
the Chief's in writing after they have their sessions. The
information that the Chief's gather after their meeting should be
reported to the Committee as a whole at their next regular meeting in
August.
The committee discussed New Hope and the union question. Member
Anderson questioned why New Hope was involved with the idea of
unionization.
The committee discussed pros and cons of a joint fire department
venture. Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager stated he would like the
Chief's to study what the benefits and the downsides are concerning
this joint project. It was a concensus of the committee to have the
Chief's and possibly their officers work together to come up with
Several scenarios regarding the benefits, cost-savings, or downsides
to a joint venture. This should include number of volunteers needed
to run a joint operation, station location, equipment, fire prevention
and how it's going to be handled, and additional costs which were
listed as a common or zero dollar amount in the financial summary.
This information is to be brought back to the group at their next
regular meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
NEW HOPE/CRYSTAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
August 17, 1992 New Hope Fire Station
7:00 p.m. 4251 Xylon Avenue North
~ New Hope, MN 55428
Call to Order
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was called to order
by Crystal Mayor Pro rem Jack Irving.
Roll Call/Introductions
Present: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro tem
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fornier, New Hope Fire Department
Absent: Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Rusty Demeules, New Hope Citizen Member
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Meetina
The minutes of the June 23, 1992 meeting were moved for approval
with one correction. The correction being that Jack Irving,
Crystal Mayor Pro rem was not present at this meeting,
Motion Carried.
Chief McGinty and Chief Smith passed out copies of questions and
concerns developed from meetings with their respective fire
departments. The questions were gone over and briefly discussed.
The Fire Chiefs are to consolidate these lists into categories.
The Fire Chiefs andthe City Managers will meet to develop
answers to the questions that they can. Recommendations will be
brought back to the Task Force.
JuddI~Anderson brought forward concerns of rumors that have been
going around in the fire departments and amongst retired
firefighters; specifically, the question of pension issues and
how retirees would be accommodated. Jerry Dulgar identified some
of the concerns and would be forwarding these questions to the
attorney for furtherresearch and answers.
Chiefs McGinty and Smith presented information regarding options
that could be utilized by a consolidated fire department
regarding the number of major pieces of equipment, personnel and
response districts. Also, presented was information on response
times and options on possible organizational structures within a
consolidated fire district. Also discussed was what the mission
would be' of a consolidated fire district with Crystal presenting
their draft of a fire department mission statement. Several
discussion questions were brought forward including the minimum
number of engines that we could use and be comfortable with as
well as minimum numbers of volunteer firefighters that would be
required to adequately staff fire stations.
Discussion was also held on how an aggressive fire prevention
program and built-in fire suppression program could positively
affect the response operations of a consolidated fire district.
Next Meetinq
The next meeting will be held in the City of Crystal on
September 8, 1992, 7:00 p.m. Tentative agenda is further
discussion of:
1. Questions and concerns brought forward by firefighters.
2. Pension issues
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
(
September 17, 1992
FIREFIGHTER QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS
The following are questions and/or concerns from firefighters of
New Hope and Crystal brought forward at meetings in June and July
of 1992 followed by the best answer available at this time.
Consolidation Process
1. Q. What are the advantages/disadvantages to the cities?
A.' The Task Force is developing a repOrt to the City
Councils stating advantages and disadvantages. The
perceived advantages will be a financial benefit, lack
of duplication of effort, increase in the utilization
of resources and decrease in response time to certain
areas.
2. Q. What are the advantages/disadvantages to firefighters?
A. The answer to this question is based primarily on a
perceived advantage or disadvantage by an individual
firefighter and. will be determined by individuals after
reviewing the proposal and recommendation developed by
the Task Force.
3. Q. What is the time line for this proposal?
A. At this time, the Task Force is attempting to develop a
work plan with target dates. It is hoped that a report
or recommendation could be available in the spring
1993.
4. Q. Could there be a trial period or phase-in period?
A. A trial period does not seem feasible; however, any
agreement will include a disolving agreement. A phase-
in period is likely in a consolidation. The phase-in
Would be determined by the management of the fire
district.
5. Q.. Who makes the final decision on a consolidation?
A. This appears to bea joint Manager/Council decision
based on findings of the Task Force and recommendation
by the City Managers.
A. When a draft report and recommendation is available, it
is planned to hold a joint meeting to discuss the
report and address any concerns.
Governance
1. Q. Who would be the Fire Chief and what would the
organizational structure look like?
2. Q. Who would the Chief report to?
3. Q. Who would determine the budget figure to use for a
consolidated department?
4. Q. How would the fund (budget figure) be divided?
5. Q. How would a joint powers agreement work?
6. Q. How would a joint powers agreement be defined?
7. Q. Who would be in authority in a joint powers agreement?
A. All of the governance questions will be answered after
a decision is made on whether to consolidate or not.
These questions will be answered after a joint powers
board was established and the upper level management of
the district were appointed.
Operations
(Operational decisions would be made by the Chief, his management
staff and the district management; however, some answers are as
follows):
1. Q. What would the station response zones look like?
A. This would be determined by Chief and district
management.
2. Q. Would firefighters be assigned/transferred to different
stations?
A. Possibly, depending on where they live and/or work.
3. Q. Would stations be closed or relocated?
A. Not in the foreseeable future.
4. Q. How many stations will be needed for a consolidated fire department?
A. At this point, all three stations would appear to be
needed. Station location and/or number of stations is
a management decision that would be evaluated on an
ongoing basis by the Chief of the department and the
district management.
5. Q. Will calls be dispatched by station/district?
A. This would be decided based on need by the Chief and
district management, but it would be anticipated that,
yes, there would be district calling.
6. Q. What will be the makeup of the command structure?
A. It will be decided by the district management based on
need.
7. Q. Would fire inspection/prevention emphasis increase in
the City of Crystal and/or New Hope because of this
consolidation?
A. It is anticipated that additional emphasis will
continue to be placed on fire prevention activities.
Personnel
1. Q. What is the expected affect on personnel?
A. It is expected that personnel will need to be flexible
during a consolidation period. There may be some
change, but it is anticipated that nothing radically
different would occur.
2. Q. Would there be a large number of personnel resigning?
A. It is hoped that this would not be the case, but it is
an individual's decision, as alWays, whether to remain
in the organization or not.
3. Q. Would the district hire additional full-time
firefighters similar to the City of Fridley?
A. Not in the foreseeable future.
4. Q. How would the different wage structures be merged?
Increases/Decreases?
A. Wages and benefits will be decided by the district
management and joint powers board.
5. Q. Will firefighters be laid off?
A. It is anticipated that any reduction in staff would
occur through attrition and not layoffs.
6. Q. What staffing level would be needed to serve both
communities adequately?
A. This would be a decision of the Chief and district
management based on need,.but it is anticipated that
approximately 18-22 firefighters would be needed per
station depending on responding equipment or
approximately 60 firefighters.
Pensions
1. Q. How would Relief Association bylaws be merged and how
would benefits be paidduring the interim period
between the consolidation and the final merger of
Relief Association bylaws?
A. No decisions have been made in this area. The Task
Force will be considering special legislation to
consolidate the departments and have as little change
in pensions and/or benefits as possible.
2. Q. Can excess money from the lump sum, currently used for
wages each year in New Hope, be put towards the
Firefighters Pension Fund instead of disbursed as a
"bonus" at year-end?
A. Wages and benefits will be determined by the district
management and joint powers board.
3. Q. Would pensions be rolled into one fund?
A. No decision has been made at this time, but the Task
Force is looking into special legislation that would
give as much flexibility and/or allow employees to have
as little disruption as possible.
4. Q. Would a defined contribution form of pension investing be set up?
A. This will be looked at and considered.
5. Q. Retirees are concerned about how pensions would be
handled and administered if a consolidation took place.
A. It is the intention that if a consolidation occurs,
that every effort will be made to make little or no
change for retirees so that they would enjoy
uninterrupted benefits.
Miscellaneous
1. Q. Can New Hope's Fire Department always depend on
receiving a certain amount of funds from the Lions
gambling receipts?
A. This is a question that should be directed towards the
Lions and/or other charitable gambling organizations,
but it should be noted that these funds are notoriously
unreliable and unstable.
NEW HOPE/CRYSTAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
September 30, 1992 Crystal South Fire Station
7:00 p.m. 4101 Douglas Drive North
Crystal, MN 55422
Call to Order
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was called to order
by Crystal Mayor Pro tem Jack Irving.
Roll Call/Introductions
Present: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro tem
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fournier, New Hope Fire Department
Approval of Past Minutes
It was moved, seconded and approved to 'accept the minutes of the
August 17, 1992 meeting.
Presentation bv David Kennedy. Crystal City Attorney on options
for dealinq with the pension issue under a consolidated system.
Mr. Kennedy discussed the current law as it would apply to a
consolidated fire department. The cities would completely
dissolve the pension plans based on current law and the Relief
Associations would need to pay obligations and then distribute
the funds on a pro-rated basis to active members.
His recommendation was that the cities and Relief Associations
decide what they would want to do with the pensions and 'then go
for special legislation. The discussion revolved arOund keeping
the two current pension plans and starting a third. Members that
are currently in them would stay there with no disruption of
expected benefits and retirees would continue to receive their
benefits as always. A new pension fund would be established for
all new firefighters.
Many options were discussed regarding this third pension fund,
including the question, would current active' members have an
opportunity to transfer over if they so chose? Ail of these
options were taken under advisement and the City Managers and
possibly one or two others will meet with the Executive'Director
of the Legislative Commission on Pension and Retirements to
discuss what would need to be done for special legislation.
Questions and Concerns
The questions and concerns from firefighters were discussed with
the answers that were available at this time. The task force
approved these answers robe distributed to all firefighters and
be mailed out to all the retirees.
Work Plan
The work plan was discussed identifying major areas that need to '
be addressed so a preliminary report can be made to Council.
City Managers and Chiefs will be coming back with information
regarding the first, several items on the work plan.
Meeting was adjourned at 2100 hours.
NEW HOPE/CRYSTAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
February 9, 1993 New Hope Fire Station
7:00 p.m. 4251 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428
Call to Order
The consolidation Committee was called to order at 1915 hours by New Hope
Mayor Ed Erickson.
Roll Call
Committee Members Present: Pete Meintsma, Crystal Mayor
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief'
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Ed. Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, City of New Hope
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Others Present: Greg Carlson, New Hope Fire Department
Steve Homestad, New Hope Fire Department
Approval of Past Minutes
It was moved, seconded and approved to accept the minutes of the
September 30, 1992 meeting.
Discussion of Pension Fund Merqer DRAFT Leqislation
It was pointed out that the draft was intended to be a working copy and was
not intended for general distribution until the Committee had a chance to
look at it.- Copies were distributed to others outside the Committee who
did not understand that this was a draft and those persons had some obvious
problems with the language.
A discussion was conducted on the summary of the draft legislation provided
by Lawrence Martin, Executive Director of the Legislative Commission on
Pension and Retirements. A brief review of the history as to why the
Committee had decided to look at special legislation prior to a decision on
whether a consolidation should go forward was held. It was reminded that
this is probably the number one issue in the minds of the firefighters and'
they need to know exactly what to expect will happen with their pensions
prior to being asked to go along with any proposed consolidation of the
fire services.
The committee discussed several possible problem areas including the
following:
1. Page 2, Subdivision 2, Makeup of the Board of Trustees. The
Board will have eight members, four firefighters and four from
City management. Discussion on this and whether there should be
an odd number in case of ties.
2. Page 3, Lines 4 and 5. Discussion on why there are provisions
prohibiting the relief association from indirectly receiving a
donation from charitable gambling.
3. Page 3, Lines 8 through 17. Puts a cap on the amount of funds
that can be in the general fund. This was discussed and probably
is an unnecessary provision.
4. Page 3, Lines 18 through 25. Would prohibit the general fund of
the relief association from being involved in lawful gambling
activities. This would be different than other fire relief
associations in the State. It was generally discussed that this
could be detrimental and that the consolidated relief association
should operate under the same rules as other fire relief
associations.
5. Page 5, Lines 23 through 26. States that when the consolidation
occurs, any monies remaining in the general fund of the New Hope
or Crystal Fire Relief'Associations would be transferred to those
respective cities. It was generally agreed that this was not a
good idea and that any balances in general funds of the New Hope
or Crystal Fire Departments would be transferred to the general
fund in the new consolidated relief association. It was thought
that the relief association board would get together and decide
on an amount that each would bring to the new association.
6. Page 6, Line 10, Subdivision 1. Allows current retirees
receiving a monthly service pension, disability benefit or
surviVors benefit to continue receiving the benefit in the same
way that they do now even after a consolidation.or, if the board
so approves, they would have the option to convert their benefit
to an annuity or other option, but they would not be required to.
7. Page 7, Subdivision 2. This area covers current vested
firefighters. For the purposes of this law, vesting would be
considered to have occurred after five years of service. Each
firefighter would be entitled to remain under the current benefit
plan that he or she was under or would have the option to convert
to a defined contribution plan and would have 90 days to make
that election. Persons with less than five years of service and
any new firefighters hired in the consolidated fire department
would be required to go into the defined contribution plan.
Discussions were conducted on whether this option should be
available for firefighters or if we should simply continue with a
defined benefit plan as they currently have and merge the two
systems.
8. Page 11, Lines 7 through 9. States that the bylaws of the new
'relief association would specify some minimum service levels in
order to qualify for an allocation for that year. ThiS would
generally apply to defined contribution plans, thus the reason it
is included in the law; however, there may be some opportunities
to tie this in to a defined benefit plan.
It was decided that this bill, as is, with a brief explanation of what was
discussed by the Committee, should be Sent to all members and retirees for
their input. We are requesting that their input be returned to their
respective fire chiefs by 12 noon, March 4th so that this can be
distributed prior to the next meeting and some amendments can be made to
this bill. Mr. Greg Carlson from the New Hope Fire Department briefly
discussed his concerns and discussions With representative Ann Rest.
"Where are we and where are we goinq?"
A brief discussion was held on where we are and where we should be going.
It was decided that we need to dispense with the pension issue first and
that the other items should fall into line after that. The next meeting
was set for March 11, 1993, 7:00 p.m. in Crystal.
With no further business, the meeting was. adjourned at 2045 hoursl
CITY'l:~ CRYSTAL 4141 Douglas Drive North · Crystal, MN 55422-1696 · 537-8421
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
Memorandum
DATE: March 19, 1992
TO: Jack Irving, Crystal Councilmember and Mayor Pro-Tem
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fournier, New Hope Fire Department
Rusty Demeules, Citizen Member
Frank Quisenberry, Committee Facilitator
Michael Barone, Crystal Employee-Committee Staff
FROM: Jerry Dulgar, City Manager of Crystal
Dan Donahue, City Manager of New Hope
SUBJECT: Fire Department Consolidation Committee Meeting
A joint meeting with members of the City of Crystal and the City
of New Hope for the Fire Department Consolidation Committee will
be held on T~es~ay, April 14, 1992 at 7 p.m. at
New Hope Fire Station
4251 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428.
Please call me (Jerry) at 537-8421 to let me know if you will not
be in attendance.
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE AGENDA
for
April 14, 1992 Meeting
1. Call to Order: Co-chair Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Co-chair Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro Tem
2. Roll Call.
3. Approval of February 25, 1992 and March 10, 1992 meeting
minutes.
4. Status Of seeking pension law specialist for a course of
action concerning both Relief Associations from City
Managers.
5. Report from meeting of City Managers, Fire Chiefs, and
Finance Directors concerning financial details of both Fire
Departments from City Managers and/or Fire Chiefs.
6. Decide upon timeline for "Goals of Committee", designate
sub-committees and assignments for work in order to satisfy
"Goals".
7. Discussion of "second Tuesday of each month" format 'for
Joint Meetings. -~
8. Other business.
9. Agree on date and select a site within City of crystal for
May meeting.
Tentative "Second Tuesday" date - Tuesday, May 12, ~1992
10. Adjournment.
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, March 10, 1992 City of Crystal
7:00 p.m. South Conference Room
r4141 Douglas Drive North
Crystal, MN 55422
I. Call to Order~
Co-chairs Irving and Erickson absent. The meeting
began at 7:20 p.m.
Present: Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fournier, New Hope Fire Dept.
Rusty Demeules, Citizen Member
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Michael Barone, Committee Staff
Absent: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro-Tem
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Dept.
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Frank Quisenberry, Committee Facilitator
No formal action taken on approving minutes from
Febz~/ary 23, 1992.
IV. RePort f_rom Fire Chiefs
Both Fire Chiefs distributed budget summaries.
Submitted were the 1992 budget summary for Crystal
and the actual 1991 expenses for New Hope. Also
provided by Chief McGinty was a Fire Department
Personnel Summary as prepared by Steve Longaecker.
The s,,mmary details the firefighter certification
level, medical response training, and Haz-Mat
emergency response training for Crystal's
firefighters.
Chief Smith from New Hope distributed a summary of
the New Hope Fire Department activities for 1991
generated by their Prober Chief program. He
explained a number of the pages to the committee.
V. Time-Line for "Goals of Committee"
Discussion concerning a time-line for "Goals of
Committee" was not formally discussed; and will
probably be discussed at the April 14, 1992
meeting.
VI. Other ~usiness
City Managers Dan Donahue and Jerry Dulgar
distributed copies of two letters relating to the
status of both Relief Associations with a possible
merger. One letter was from Ms. Judith M.
Johnson, General Counsel with the State of
Minnesota's office of the State Auditor addressed
to Mr. Steven A. Sondrall, with the law firm
Corrick & Sondrall, City Attorney for the City of
New Hope. The second letter was from Mr. Sondrall
t° both Dan Donahue and Jerry Dulgar.
The essence of these letters advises both City
· Managers to "seek the assistance of legal counsel
specializing in pension law to recommend a proper
course of action for the Relief Associations if
the departments merge" (copies of letters
enclosed). Both City Managers said they would do
what is recommended by Mr. Sondrall and report
back to the committee in April.
Also, both City Managers advised that they should
meet with both Fire Chiefs and both Finance
Directors for each city to discuss the financial
details of both Fire Departments. The outcome
from this meeting will be presented at the April
meeting, as well.
VII. Next Meeting
Tuesday, April 14, 1992, at 7:00 p.m. is the next
scheduled committee meeting. The committee will
meet at the New Hope Fire Station, 4251 Xylon
Avenue North, New Hope, MN 55428.
Due to the large number of absent members at this
meeting, Jerry Dulgar recommended that the second
Tuesday format for the joint committee meetings be
discussed at the April meeting to see if this. is a
good night to meet, or should the committee find
another night.
The meeting ended at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Michael Barone
March 10, 1992
Mr· Daniel d. Donahue
City Manager
City of New Hope
4401 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428
Mr. Jerry Dulgar
City Manager
City of Crystal
4141 North Douglas Drive
'Crystal, MN 55422
RE; Merger of Fire Degartment/Relief Association
Dear Dan and Jerry:
Enclosed is a letter ! received from legal counsel for the Sta~e
Auditor's office in connecl:ion with treatment of the fire relief
association due to a possible merger of the New Hope and Crystal
fire departments. As we discussed, ! believe we shoulcl seek =he
assistance of legal Counsel specializing in pension law to
recommend a proper course of action for the relief associations if
the departments merge,
! can consult with the Dorsey law firm in this regar~l unless Dave
Kennedy's office has someone on board in tlliS area. [.et me know if
you want me to contact Jerry Gilligan in this regard.
Very truly yours,
Steven A. Sondrall
Slt
~r~i:~'~.~,'~L,o~ STATE OF MINNESOTA
K~'~;-~,--~;~% 0FFIC~ OF TNE STATE AUDITOR
MAR~ B. DAYTON
ST~ AUO~TO~ 296-255~
March 6, 1992
Mr. Steven A. $ondrall
New Hope City Attorney -
8525 Edinbrook Crossing
Suite 203
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota 55443
Dear Attorney Sondrall:
I have received your letter of Febmm'y 26, 1992 tn l~,en Pe.m'~ requesting the advice of
this Office on a potential merger of fire departments by New Hope and Crystal.
Your letter indicates that you are currently considering two methods to re.solve the
stares of the current volunteer fire relief axsociagons. Our records as of December 31, 1990
indicate that Crystal has a current deficit of $357,897 and a municipal con~bution of
$29,831 annually. New Hope has a current deficit of $408,007 and a municipal contrib'ution
of $21,720 annually.
I have reviewed the relevant Minnesota Statutes and can raise some of the questions
t2tat you will need to address. However, our Office doe4 not give advice on specific
transactions or recommendations.
Minn. Stat. 424A.02, sulxl$. I 1-13 provide statutory guidance goverrdng relief
association dissolutions whea the fire department which it is associated with is dissolved or
eliminated. You would need to determine whether the $oint Powers Agreement creates a
dissolution of the now Independent fire departments.
To the extent the Joint Powers Agreement muses a dissolution of the existing reliefs,
you must dissolve the relief a.ssociadons and pay out the benefits pro tam as defined by the
Statute.
Minn. Stat. 424A.02, subd. 12 provides for years of s~rvice credit for vesting
purposes, but allows credit for l~nsion calculation purposes for only those years of service in
the new department. You must determine ff the loint Powers meets the requirements of
· ~",{ EQUAL OPPORT%.'NITY EMPLOYER
Mr. Steven A. $ondr~l
M~rch 6, 1992
Page 2
Minn. Stat. 424A.02 to allow for vesting credits for your current members in the separate
associations. To the ext~nt you want to merge the two associations, you sh0uld determine if
t~is statut~ prevents that result.
Minn. Stat. §6~.021 mandates the mechanism for payment of state aid. It would appeac
that the new $oint Power could receive stat~ aid based on the combined population and net
tax capacity. However, to the extent you maintained the existlng associations, the existing
associations would not be eligible for fire aid, yet the municipalities would be r~quired to
amortize and pay annual payments to the e~dsting associations until all benefits are paid out.
T~is can b~ particularly troublesome sinc~ normal cost must be contributed each year as a
contribution, even when the fund has achieved 100% funding.
The difference in financial impact on the municipaliti~ between effecting a dissolution
of the existing associations and maintaining thes~ associations appears to be substantial.
Seeking the advice of both an actuary and a pension attorney would se~m to be appropriate.
Another potential problem r~lates to differing benefit levels in the two ~$ociations.
You would ne.~d to find a method to allocate muMcipal contributions in a manner
faJ.r b~r both municipalities.
! hoI~ ~is tnformatiot~ has be~n helpful.
With best regards.
Sincerely,
· Judith M. $ohnson
General Counsel
~IMJ:tp
992
Mr. Daniel J. Donahue
City Manager
Ctty of New Hope
4¢01 Xy]on Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428
Mr. Jerry Du]gar
City Manager
City of Crystal
41{1 North Doug]as Drive
'Crystal, MN 55422
RE; Merger of Fire Department/Relief AsSociation
Dear Dan and Jerry;
Enclosed ts a letter ! received from legal counsel for the
Auditor's o~fce {n connection with treatment o~ the fire re]~e~
association due to a Dos$'tb3e merger of the New HoDe and
fire departments. As we discussed, I believe we should seek the
assistance of 3ega3 counse~ s~ecta]iz~ng ~n pension law to
recommend a proper course of action for the re3ief associations
the departments merge,
! can consult wi~h the Dorsey law firm in this regara un3ess Dave
Kennedy's office has someone on board in this area. Let me know
you want me to contact Jerry Gil]tgan in thts regard.
Very truly yours,
Steven A. $ondral]
alt
MAR
STATE OF MINNESOTA
ff~.~.,~,.~J~:;~ OFFICE 0r THE STATE AUDITOR
~ ~~'~ SUITE 4~
.....
~~ SAINT PAUL
DAYTON
AUDITOR 296-2552
March 6, 1992
Mr. Steven A. $ondrall
New Hope City Attorney --
8525 E, dinbrook Crossing
Suite 203
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota 55443
Dear Attorney $ondrall:
I have received your letter of February 26, 1992 to Ben Pcarce requesting the advice of
this Office on a potential merger of fire departments by New Hope and Crystal.
Your letter indicates that you are currently considering two methods to resolve the
status of the current volunteer fire relief associations. Our records as of December 31, 1990
indicate that Crystal has a current deficit of $3:~7,897 and a municipal conu'ibution of
$29,831 annually. New Hope has a current deficit of $408,007 and a municipal contribution
of $21,720 annually.
I have reviewed the relevant Minnesota Statutes and can raise some of the questions
that you will need to address. However, our Office does not give advice on specific
transactions or recommendations.
Minn. Stat. 424A.02, sums. 11-13 provide statutory guidance governing relief
association dissolutions when the f'u'e department which it is associated with is dissolved or
eliminated. You would need to determine whether the Joint Powers Agreement creates a
dissolution of the now independent fi.re departments.
To the extent the Joint Powers Agreement causes a dissolution of the existing reliefs,
you must dissolve the relief associations and pay out the ~ncfits pro rata as defined by the
Statute.
Minn. Stat. 424A.02, subd. 12 provides for years of service credit for vesting
purposes, but allows credit for pension calculation purposes for only those years of service in
He new department. You must determine if ~e loint Powers meets the requirements of
EQUAL 0PPORT%.'NITY EMPLOYER
Mr. Steven A. Sondrall
March 6, 1992 ~'~'
Page 2
Minn. Stat. 424A.02 to allow for vesting credits for your current members in the separate
associations. To the extent you want to merge the two associations, you should determine it'
this stature prevents that result.
Minn. Stat. §69.021 mandates the mechanism for payment of stare aid. It would appear
that the new $olnt Power could receive state aid based on the combined population and net
tax capacity. However, to the extent you maintained the existing associations, the existing
associations would not be eligible for fire aid, yet the municipalities would be required to
amortize and pay annual payments to the existing associations until all benefits are paid out.
This can be particularly troublesome since normal cost must be contributed each year as a
contribution, even when the fund has achieved 100% funding.
The difference in financial impact on the municipalities between effecting a dissolution
of the existing associations and maintaining these associations appears to be substantial.
Seeking the advice of both an actuary and a pension attorney would scem to be appropriate.
Another potential problem relates to differing benefit levels in the two associations.
You would need to f'md a method to allocate municipal contributions in a manner deemed
fair by both municipalities.
I hope this information ~ been helpful.
With best regards.
Sincerely,
. Judi~ M. Johnson
O~eral ¢ounseI
CRYSTAL FIRE DEP~RTMENT
Firefi=hter Certification Level
14 @ FF I Level
17 @ FF II Level
6 @ FF III Level
5 Captains @ FF II
2 Asst. Chiefs @ FF III
Medical Response Training
I @ EMT Level
I @ Paramedic Level
Ail remaining firefighters @ 1st Responder Level
Haz-Mat Emergency Response Training
Ail firefighters at Operational Level
3 fire officers at Technician's Level
CRYSTAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
1992 BUDGET SUMMARY
Personal Services:
Wages $151,188
Vol. Pension 44,190
Workers Comp. 24,071
Misc. 3.180
$222,629 $222,629
Supplies, Repairs, Maint. 15,985
Insurance:
Property 1,100
Fire Vehicles 5,750
Operation 1.800
$ 8,650 8,650
Other Services and Charges 29,066
Capital Outlay 2.000
TOTAL ANNUAL BUDGET $278~330
1991 ~XPEN$~$ FOR NEW HOPE FIRE & FIRE PREVENTION
FIRE FIRE PREV TOTAL
F/T WAGES $37,060 $21,400 $58,460
P/T WAGES $129,679 $129,679
F/T OVERTIME $1,185 $864 $2,049
HEALTH · W.C. (FOR $5,202 $2,655 $7,857
FUIJ. TIME) $0
F/F WORKERS COMP $16,917 $16,917
VAC/SICK/HOL $5,030 $2,898 $7,928
P~RA $5,727 $2,841 $8,$68
TOTAL $200,800 $30,658 $231,458
OPERATION SUPPLY $10,676 $425 $11,101
PHYSICA3.S F/F'S $2,625 $2,625
MILEAGE $703 $703
COMMUNICATIONS $8,545 $8,545
TRANSPORTATION $51,168 $51,168
UTILITIES $23,6~4 $23,654
~LDING RENT/iL $4,525 $3,114 $7,639
TRNG $7,893 $323 $8,216
CONTRACTS $205 $205
TOTAL $310,429 $35,223 $345,652
$o
ACT FROM 91 $317,826 $35,~91 $~53',417
CITY, CRYSTAL 4141 Douglas Drive North, Crystal, MN 55422-1696 · 537-8421
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
Memorandum
DATE: March 4, 1992
TO: Jack Irving, Crystal Councilmember and Mayor Pro-Tem
Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Kevin McGinty, CrYstal Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fournier, New Hope Fire Department
Rusty Demeules, Citizen Member
Frank Quisenberry, Committee Facilitator
Michael Barone, Crystal Employee-Committee Staff
FROM: Jerry Dulgar, City Manager of Crystal
Dan Donahue, City Manager of New Hope
SUBJECT: Fire Department Consolidation Committee Meeting
A joint meeting with members of the City of Crystal and the City
of New Hope for the Fire Department Consolidation Committee will
be held on Tuesday, March 10, 1992 at 7 p.m. at
Crystal City Hall
4141 Douglas Drive
Council Chambers.
Please call me (Jerry) at 537-8421 to let me know if you will not
be in attendance.
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE AGENDA
FOR
MARCH 10, 1992 MEETING
1. Call to order: Co-Chair Jack Irving
Co-Chair Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of February 25, 1992 minutes
4. Report from Fire Chiefs
5. Decide upon time-line for "Goals of Committee",
designate sub-committees and assignments for work in
order to satisfy "Goals".
6. Other business
7. Agree on date and select a site within City of New Hope
for April meeting: Tuesday, April 14, 1992
8. Adjournment
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, February 25, 1992 New Hope Fire Station
7:00 p.m. 4251 Xylon Avenue No~'th
New Hope, MN 55428
I. Fall to Ordpr
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was
called to order by New Hope Mayor Ed Erickson at
7:20 p.m. The meeting started late due to the
tour of the New Hope Fire Station.
Present: Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro-Tem
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Dept.
Justin Anderson, Crystal Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fournier, New Hope Citizen Member
Frank Quisenberry, Committee Facilitator
Mike Barone, Committee Staff
Absent: Gary Joselyn, Crystal Councilmember
Rusty Demeules, New Hope Citizen Member
It was moved by Jerry Dulgar and seconded by Gary
L'Herault to approve the minutes, as submitted,
from the January 14, 1992 meeting.
Motion carried.
IV. Mission Statement
Frank Quisenberry facilitated this process.
Frankread the "Visioning Exercise Summary" done
at the November 1991 meeting. The group captured
these themes from this exercise: Daytime
response; Common Code Enforcement; High profile
department; Equipment; Common Territory with
resources; Customer satisfaction;
Management/leadership/Positive work culture;
Training; Fire Prevention/Education; Long-term
Planning; Size of department with efficient .use of
resources; Cost effective department; Ability to
attract/keep highly qualified firefighters.
Frank also re-read the "Concerns of the Committee
Members" done at the November 1991 meeting. A
three-fold statement of Mission for the committee
emerged from these concerns, which will include
the purpose of the committee, the customers
served, and what the committee plans to do to
justify its existence.
M~ssion Statement
The joint Fire Services Consolidation Committee,
comprised of members from both the City of Crystal
and City of New Hope, propose to gather data and
information, develop criteria to evaluate the data
and inf6rmation gathered, analyze this data and
information, and then make recommendations to the
respective City Councils as to the feasibility,
extent, and cost-effectiveness of consolidating
fire services between the Cities of Crystal and
New Hope.
Goa~s of the Committee
1. Gather current data on Resources.
Most of the data that needs to be gathered
falls into these major categories:
A. Equipment/Maintenance
B. Labor/Skills/Training
C. Emergency Responses
D. Fire Prevention
2. Develop criteria to review/analyze data by~
involving the major stakeholders in the
process: City Councils, Fire Departments,
citizens in both communities, and outside
organizations and agencies that set forth
standards to be met in operating a combined
~ department. Information from previous fire
department consolidations in the region would
be beneficial to our process, as well.
3. S~mmarize, analyze, and make recommendations
that could be incorporated into a long range
plan as to the future needs of a combined
fire department.
V. Report from Fire Chiefs
Kevin McGinty and Doug Smith presented some
information to the committee members, using some
overhead projections, to show currently what each
department has for major equipment, the age of the
equipment, an organization chart, and an overview
of each department's appropriations for the past
few years.
Committee members expressed a desire to see
"apples" compared to "apples" in order to further
evaluate the finances of each department for the
next joint meeting. Information wanted from the
financial reports would concern salaries, training
expenses, response times, number of calls,
contributions toward benefits and relief
associations, etc.
VI. No other business
VII. Next Meeting
Next joint meeting will be held on Tuesday, March
10, 1992 at Crystal City Hall at 7:00 p.m. The
committee agreed to meet the second Tuesday of
each month. This meeting deviated from our
initial plans to meet on the second Tuesday in
order to accommodate Facilitator Frank
Quisenberry.
VIII. Ad~ourn6ent
It was moved by Jack Irving and seconded by Kevin
McGinty to adjourn the meeting. The meeting
adjourned at 9=10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Barone
DEMOGRAPHICS
' ' CITY OF , CITIES
CITY OF , ,
' NEW HOPE
CRYSTAL , ' COMBINED
POPULATION 23,788 21,853 45,641
('90 EST)
AREA OF CITY 6.0 sq.mi. 5.8 sq.mi. 11.6 sq.mi.
HOUSEHOLDS 9700 8400 18,100
VALUATION
Total
Market $689,653,500 $729,518,500 $1,419,172,000
Value
('91)
Tax $11,951,304 $18,152,020 $30,103,324
Capacity
MILES OF 99 mi. 102 mi. 201 mi.
STREETS
FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL
CRYSTAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
- One career Chief (Department Head)
- One part-time Fire Inspector
- 40 paid on-call Firefighters (50 authorized)
Fire Officers accountable to Fire Chief. Fire Chief reports to City
Manager. Fire Department functions under old "by-law type" system.
NEW HOPE FIRE DEPARTMENT
New Hope operates with a Director of. Fire & Safety who is a Department
and is responsible for the following:
- Fire Department & Inspections
- Building Department & Inspections
- General Inspections
(Zoning, Mechanical, Plumbing, Signs)
- City Community Health Inspections
- Code Compliance Inspections
- City Emergency Management Coordinator
- City Safety Coordinator
The Department of Fire & Safety has three full time
inspectors, part time sanitarian, and one and one half clerical ~
personnel. The Fire Department is made up of one
Assistant Chief, two Captains; two lieutenants, one
Rescue Lieutenant. Total membership of the Fire
Department is 37.
CITY OF CRYSTAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Fire Chief
.'Fire Inspector
I IOeputy Chief/ I
,:. , : [Training Officer [
Officer/Captain
[Day cap, tail---] [Night Captain!'] I i.,'[ iiiP't,u~n
Day Captain [
.... . _N~ght
[ ~;;~i':~r;}:n-I[ FNT[:~i:~:;:s°n [I s°~thStationI SouthStatio2
I
I Firefighters ,, j
F .... [ Firefighters J
CITY OF NEW ttOPE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
, Fire ~ Safety
Engineer Secretary
· Coordinator -
Inspections Sanitarian
Inspections '~ I,~ Training Office[ Coordinator
) ) )
FIRE FACILITIES
CITY OF CRYSTAL
NORTH FIRE STATION, 5354 Douglas Drive North
- Total Square Footage: 9,176
- 4 Apparatus Bays for room for up to 7 vehicles
- Apparatus assigned
- Two fire pumpers
- One aerial truck
- One light rescue vehicle
- One utility vehicle
- Office space, kitchen, lounge, and 2nd floor
training facility
SOUTH FIRE STATION, 4101 Douglas Drive North
- Total Square Footage: 7,300
- 3 Apparatus Bays with room for up to 6 vehicles
- Apparatus assigned
- Two fire pumpers
- One light rescue
- One inspector/station vehicle
- One Fire Chief's vehicle
- Office space, kitchen, lounge
South Station also provides office space for Fire Chief, Fire
Inspector and shared office for South Station
Fire Officers, Training Officers, and Relief Association.
CITY OF NEW HOPE
NEW HOPE FIRE STATION, 4251 Xylon Avenue North
- Total Square Footage: 20,000 +
This facility is centrally located in the City of New Hope,
and is equipped witha Emergency Operations Center, Gun
Range, Meeting-Training Room, Vehicle Maintenance Area,
and adequate Apparatus Storage.
EQUIPMENT
CRYSTAL NEW HOPE
VEHICLE & YEARS VEHICLE & YEARS
YEAR BUILT LEFT YEAR BUILT LEFT
'78 PUMPER 11 '61 PUMPER 0
(1250 GPM) ( 750 GPM)
'80 PUMPER 13 '65 PUMPER 0
(1250 GPM) (1000 GPM)
'90 PUMPER 23 '71 PUMPER 4
(1250 GPM) (1250 GPM3~.
'90 PUMPER 23 '76 PUMPER 9
(1250 GPM) (1250 GPM)
NO mini-pumper '81 MINI-PUMPER 5-10
( 30O GPM)
'73 AERIAL SCOPE 11-16 NO aerial scope
'84 LIGHT RESCUE 2 '87 HEAVY RESCUE 10-15
'85 LIGHT RESCUE 3 ,
!
!
'79 UTILITY TRUCK 0
'88 STATION WAGON 6 '89 PICK-UP 3
'88 CAR (CHIEF) 1 '89 CAR (CHIEF) 2
MAXIMUM life-span for equipment:
PUMPERS 25 years
MINI-PUMPERS 15-20 years
AERIALS 30-35 years
LIGHT RESCUE 10 years
HEAVY RESCUE 20-25 years
STATION WAGON 10 years
PICK-UP 5-7 years
CARS 5 years
APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1990, 1991, AND 1992
CRYSTAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
'90 ACTUAL '91 ACTUAL '92 ACTUAL
ITEM
PERSONAL SERVICES $129,381 $149,169 $151,188
SUPPLIES, REPAIRS, MAINT. $10,678 $16,085 $15,985
OTHER SERVICES & CHARGES $55,032 $23,996 $29,066
CAPITAL OUTLAY $3,544 $2,000 $2,000
TOTAL ANNUAL BUDGET $198,635 $191,250 $198,239
NEW HOPE FIRE DEPARTMENT
'90 ACTUAL '91 ACTUAL '92 ACTUAL
ITEM
PERSONAL SERVICES
FIRE & SAFETY $181,628 $185,543 $185,746
FIRE PREVENTION $57,308 $65,261 $45,576
SUPPLIES, REPAIRS, MAINT.
FIRE & SAFETY $12,230 $18,000 $20;000
FIRE PREVENTION $76 $1,600 $1,600
OTHER SERVICES & CHARGES
FIRE SAFETY $80,016 $73,407 $99,795
FIRE PREVENTION $5,314 $6,409 $6,781
CAPITA~ OUTLAY
FIRE & SAFETY $312 $2,450 $2,450
FIRE PREVENTION $0 $0 $0
TOTAL ANNUAL BUDGET
FIRE & SAFETY $274,186 $279,400 $307,991
FIRE PREVENTION $62,698 $73,270 $53,957
COMBINED $336,884 $352,670 $361,948
definition:
OTHER SERVICES & CHARGES include:
Professional Services Rentals
Other Contractual Items Training & Subscriptions
Communications Maintenance
Transportation Misc. Contractual Items
Advertising Repairs
Utilities
FIRE DEPARTMENT STATISTICS
CITY OF CRYSTAL
CRYSTAL
YEAR 1989 1990 1991 TOTALS
RESPONSES 354 419 483 1,256
FIRE LOSS $261,041 $385,750 $279,300 $926,091
CITY OF NEW HOPE
NEW HOPE
YEAR 1989 I990 1991 TOTALS
RESPONSES 548 580 601 1,729
FIRE LOSS $286,575 $180,684 $279,140 $746,399
COMBINED TOTALS
TOTAL
RESPONSES 902 999 1,084 2,985.
TOTAL
FIRE LOSS $547,616 $566,434 $558,440 $1,672,490
DF~P/~. POP. ~ STA. ~ ~ OTHER
Golden 23,000 3 4 1 Heavy Resc~e/Comma~
Valley
Centennial 15,000 39 3 4 0 3-Med. Rescue
Maple Grove 42,000 36 3 5 1 Heavy. Rescue/Commar
Haz-Mat Truck
Brooklyn 29,000 9 2 3 I Mini-Pumper
Center w/pump Two Rescue/Salvage
Brooklyn 56,000 27 3 4 1 Mini Pumper
Park w/pump
Plymouth 51,000 35 3 5 I 2 Light Rescue
100'w/pmp
I Haz-Mat Truck
55'w/pmp
Robbinsdale 15,000 3 i 3 1 - 75' Heavy Rescue/Comma~
Snorkel
i Heavy Rescue
Fridley 30,000 11.3 3 4 100' w/pmp Haz-Mat Truck
CITY CRYSTAL 4141 Douglas Drive North · Crystal, MN 55422-1696 · 537-8421
ADMINISTRATWE OFFICE
Memorandum
DATE: January 8, 1992
TO: Pete Meintsma, Mayor of Crystal
Jack Irving, COuncilmember
Frank Quisenberry, Facilitator
Kevin McGinty, Fire Chief
Steve Longaecker, Fire Department
Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, Mayor of New Hope
Gary L'Herault, Councilmember
Doug Smith, Fire Chief
Don Fournier, Fire Department
Rusty Demeules, Citizen Member
FROM: Jerry Dulgar, City Manager of Crystal
Dan Donahue,. City Manager of New Hope
SUBJECT: Joint Meeting
Tuesday, January 14, 1992
A joint meeting with members of the City of Crystal and the
City of New Hope Fire Consolidation Committee will be held
on T~es~ay, January 14, 1992 at 7 p.m. at
Crystal City Hall
4141 Douglas Drive
Council Chambers.
Please call me (Jerry) at 537-8421 to let me know if you
will not be in attendance.
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE
AGENDA
1. Call to Order: Co-chair Jack Irving, Crystal Mayor Pro Tem
Co-chair Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor.
2. Roll Call/Introductions.
3. Approval of Agenda.
4. Approval of November 26, 1991 meeting minutes.
-issues/agenda items/concerns of committee
-behavioral ground rules for committee
5. Review S~mmary of "Visioning" exercise.
6. Watch "Paradigms" video.
7. Construct Mission Statement and objectives for committee.
8. Other business.
9. Select date and time for next meeting to be held at New Hope
City Hall.
10. Adjournment.
~ FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
NOvember 26, 1991 New Hope City Hall
7:00 p.m. 4401 Xylon Ave. No.
New Hope, MN 55428
Call to Order
The Fire Department Consolidation Committee was called to
order by Temporary Chair and Facilitator Frank Quisenberry
at 7:00 p.m.
Roil Call/Introductions
Present: Jack Irving, CrystaI Councilmember
Elmer Carlson, Crystal Councilmember
(substituting for Betty Herbes, Crystal Mayor)
Jerry Dulgar, Crystal City Manager
~ Kevin McGinty, Crystal Fire Chief
~" '~ ' Steve Longaecker, Crystal Fire Department
'~ Justin Anderson, Citizen Member
Ed Erickson, New Hope Mayor
· Gary L'Herault, New Hope Councilmember
Dan Donahue, New Hope City Manager
Doug Smith, New Hope Fire Chief
Don Fornier, New Hope Fire Department
~ Frank Quisenb.~erry, crystal citizen, Temporary
~?~'~ ~ Chair and ~acilitator
Michael Barone, CryStal Employee - Consolidation
Committee Staff.
Absent: Rusty Demeule~'" New Hope Citizen Member
?Temporary Chair Frank QUisenberry. expressed an interest in
accomplishing three items for the initial meeting:
I i introductions, II. Bring~.~forth the issues , agenda
i~ms and concerns for the purpose of possibly sharing
services and/or merging the two fire departments. III.
Organize the committee on what' i.t~ intends to do in future
meetings. ~?~ ~.c
I. Introductions were done by going around the table,
stating~your name and position/interest in being on the
committee.
II. Concerns of the Committee Members:
1. How serious is the discussion? What "humps" will
the committee have to overcome (pay, benefits,
pensions).
2. How do we provide a different/better level of
service at or near the ex]~enditures/resources that
currently exist?
3. Can we have a cost savings and not sacrifice
existing services? " ~'
4. If cost savings not found, would we continue to
pursue consolidation?
5. A list of advantages and disadvantages needs to be
listed. This list should provide some answers as
t° whether or not consolidation is feasible.
6. If merger is currently feasible, should we set-up
a plan to implement a merger five years down the
road, as an example?
7. We shouldthoroughly study the situation,
maintaining a continuum.of cooperation that
currently exists. Also, study some of the other
fire department~mergers that have taken place in
the last 5-10 years. Ex:' Anoka/Champlin and
Centennial.
8. Look at the possibi~'it~ of a Joint Powers
Agreement to facilitate the consolidation process.
9. Maintain the trust and respect that currently
exists within both fire departments and maintain
the congenial relationship that currently exists
between both ~i~ cities' fire departments.
10. Look at impact of a possible consolidation on pay,
~ benefits, pensions, relief associations, etc.
11. Look at balancing any consolidation and cost
savings versus the morale and resources of the
firefighters. (job security)
12. In light of the many demands placed on fire
departments and cities in the past few years by
~. the federal government, state government and
county government, how can a different level of
~ service be provided to the citizens of our
,- communities?
13. How can a continuous improvement of service be
achieved in the future, keeping in mind the
quality in perception by the public, and the
quality in fact (dollars and cents)?
14. Compare the by-laws of both departments so all
items of interest are covered and approved in a
set of by-laws for a proposed consolidated
department.
III. Behavioral Ground rules for Committee:
The following behavioral ground rules were agreed upon
by the committee members:
- Open meetings, run informally - allowing for a
free flow of information.
- No hidden agendas by any of the committee members
throughout the process.
- Roughly a two hour time limit for each meeting,
with one meeting per month. Also, a review to
assess the progress of the committee should occur
at six months, or around May 1992.
- Okay to bring in outside information sources and
guests that have expertise in certain, pertinent
areas relevant to the group's discussion.
- Recognize that the position you currently hold in
your organization requires that you take certain
positions and responsibilities on the issues at
hand.
- Committee should function as a "Committee of the
Whole." The only subcommittees allowed will be
the ones created and designated by the whole
group; no informal subcommittees allowed. The
purpose here is to avoid any type of "lobbying"
aspect to emerge as a hindrance to the progress of
the group.
- By consensus, it was approved by'~e committee
that Mayor Ed Erickson of New Hope and Mayor pete
Meintsma of C~stal or his desi~ee would be co-
chairs of the co~ittee, and that the
responsibility of ~nning ~e meetings would
rotate wi~ the location site month to mon~
between ~e two cities.
- By consensus, the meeting minutes and agendas
would be prepared by ~e staff me. er to ~is
co~ittee, Michael Barone, C~stal Employee.
Respectfully S~mitted
Janua~ 7, 1992,
Michael Barone
VisiOginq.Exercise~Id~as~'.
The following are the responses to the Visioning Exercise.
The ~xercise was:
book.out into the future five years from now and describe
~hat~he fire services in both cities would look like if it
is of the best or highest quality it could be?
The responses are anonymous and in no particular order:
_ ?~¥.~ For firefighters, more training done jointly with
mQtual aid groups to allow more automatic response
to ~Pecific calls~ Also, to eliminate territorial
bouhdaries of cities. For citizens, two to three
c~les combined so it s easier to add people and
to'~ave join~dispatching. A~D,9opie move, they
d0~ft have to'leave th~servi~"Of~retirement
programs.
o Fire Safety/Public Education - would not have
boundaries, and would be don~e in ail grades. No
limits Code enforcement same fox, both cities.
More flreflghters available for daytime hours;
~more training,~ Also, on equipment replacement and
ii..~furbishmen~lan put in place and followed -
~atever the cost.
a Daytime ~an~"~afet~ co~rages have become less
~ o ~ ~nd less ~a~-~ua~a ~'~f~r a~daytime responses go.
I would hope that a merger~ould guarantee the
3a ~ded, Rer~n~el ~,~.~dequa%~ly perform the duties
1,9 .... The tools,w~.b~ have combined reso rces that
~ would crea~.~.~oln~ Powers Agreement to create a
plan for a co~ned f~re department that would
then create a 20 - 30 year long range plan on
equipment ~ = ~anpow~K, etc. The project would be to
.~ ~. ~=.~, section th~it~ ~sg,.~.~here is a minimum number of
2 , stations tha%'~o~Id.~vide the maximum services
~ ~ to'~;the citizens.
Oepa ments S me but wit =oint Powers
Agreement to~'~ha~ e~quipme~t and maintenance on
equipment. Also, ad~ one s~tmon. Fire
Department would be highly=~ible in the
community in order to achieve high customer
satisfaction.
Cost effective, with a high level of customer
satisfaction. Department should be timely,
adequate and competent. Citizens should~-.be
satisfied.
A department with reliable, up-to-date apparatus.
A structure which would have the proper Chain Of
command with officers who are capable management
people and experienced'firefighters. Adept~ith
good morale andteam attitude, dedicated~o ~he
protection of servicing the people and ci~ties
involved. Still New Hope~Crystal - but one
?"~department.
Adept With up-to-date equipment, no redundancy -
effective and efficient, daytime~Tforce, high level
of response and training in hazardous substances,
personnel compensated on basis o'~ participation,
'diversified levels of~:~esDonse, ~dedicated to
9rc~m~.~ing fire prevention as once level of
response,' optimai and ~imely supervision and
management, fire protection system, sa~isfactio~
of semite, highest ~level of se~ice, ~eam
attitude. '~ ~ ~ ~
People from around the~State coming to visit our
cities to lea~ the secrets of a successful merger
project. Fire pers~el are ~e ones most eager
to talk about the process and wondering to
themselves "how did we ever get along before the
merger?". Training~ and morale would be at an all-
time high ann"all' i~ac~9~plished~at a measurable
cost savings ~ .....
'One large dep~m~n~ W~~ditl~l stations,
modern ~tate-Of=the=a~'m~Ipment' and training, a
co~ination of fu~l ~nd .pa~-time~firef~ghters
with c~ntral a~i~is~r~on of a Joint Powers
Board, made up O~ me~eP~~ of~.pach co,unities'
.Fifty %o eighty ~0n~depa~ment, operating from
~a minim~ n~er~6~?~t~t~ions, with approximately 2
p~pers per station, ~' ladder company, I medical
response group, 1 specific company to deal with
hazardous materials? Also have 1 training center,
~ good salaries and
I a~ini~trative =ehte~,.
retir~m~ progra~S-~x: individual accounts), 1
fire }n~ectio~'._. . ~ program and co~on., fire codes.