OFFICIAL MINUTES
SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING OF THE ELOY FIRE DISTRICT BOARD
June 16, 2014
- Call to order and confirmation of quorum: A meeting of the Board was called to order by Chairman Brenda Straw at the Eloy Fire District Administration office, located at 4010 N. Toltec Road, Eloy, Arizona at 1801 hours on Monday, June 16, 2014. A quorum was confirmed with members Brenda Straw, Belinda Akes, Luis Ybarra and Edward Sauceda was present.
- Pledge of allegiance.
- Call to the Public: None
- Consent Agenda:
- A. Minutes of the Regular District meeting on June 2, 2014. MOTION made by Belinda Akes to accept the minutes. SECONDED by Edward Sauceda. MOTION PASSED (4 Ayes 0 Nays).
- B. Financial Statements. None.
- C. Approval of Warrants. None.
- Executive Session
- No action taken
- Business
- PUBLIC HEARING. There was a public hearing on the proposed 2014-15 fiscal budget. There was no public comment on the budget.
- A. Review, discussion and possible action on adopting the fiscal year 2014-15 budget and setting the tax rate for fiscal year 2014-15. There was a short discussion on the proposed 2014-15 budget. MOTION made by Brenda Straw to adopt the 2014-15 fiscal year of $ 4,309,770 with a property tax levy of $ 2,145,000 and an estimated tax rate of $ 2.4693. SECONDED by Belinda Akes. MOTION PASSED (4 Ayes 0 Nays).
- B. Review, discussion and possible action on increasing the extra duty stipend for hazardous materials technicians. Chief Amerson stated that currently the hazmat technicians are receiving $ .30 per hour which is around $ 850 per hours. Amerson explained that the techs must complete a month long class and must maintain 24 hours of training per year not to mention that they are put in extra extreme temperatures in the chemical suits and extreme hazardous duty. There was a short discussion on hazardous material technicians, their job
duties and a comparison of what other fire departments pay for their tech. Amerson is suggesting increasing hazardous materials technician pay to $ .50 per hour which will pay them around $ 1444 per year. MOTION made by Edward Sauceda to increase hazardous materials technicians pay to $ .50 per hour. SECONDED by Brenda Straw. MOTION PASSED (4 Ayes 0 Nays).
- C. Review, discussion and possible action on approving employee pay raises. Chief Amerson gave the board two options which were a straight three percent cost of living raises for all employees or a two percent cost of living raise for all employees plus merit raises if awarded to employees. There was a discussion on if the district could afford the pay raises and how the district awarded merit raises. Chief Amerson explained that the district can afford the raises but cannot guarantee what the legislature does in the future or what assessed valuations will do. MOTION made by Belinda Akes to give all employees a 2% cost of living raises and any merit raises that are awarded. SECONDED by Brenda Straw. MOTION PASSED. (4 Ayes 0 Nays).
- D. Review, discussion and possible action on purchasing a monitor/defibrillator from Physio-Control. Chief Amerson stated that there may be additional funds in the budget to purchase another monitor/defibrillator and he is asking the board to approve the monitor/defibrillator in case there are funds available. Amerson stated the cost would be $ 32,108.22. MOTION made by Brenda Straw to purchase another monitor/defibrillator from Physio-Control. Seconded by Belinda Akes. MOTION PASSED (4 Ayes 0 Nays).
- E. Review, discussion and possible action on renewing health insurance with BlueCross BlueShield. Amerson told the Board that BlueCross and BlueShield rates increased 18% but that they were the cheapest option on this time if the district wanted to maintain our grandfather health insurance. MOTION made by Edward Sauceda to renew the district’s health insurance with BlueCross BlueShield. Seconded by Brenda Straw. MOTION PASSED (4 Ayes 0 Nays).
- F. Review, discussion and possible action on filling board vacancy. Chief Amerson stated that the Board accepted John McKee’s resignation on June 2, 2014 and that the Board has 90 days to fill the vacancy. Amerson gave different options the Board can take in filling the vacancy but suggested to wait until after the board petitions are in to see who is interested in the Board and if there are the minimum candidates running for the board then the board could appoint that person to the Board. Amerson stated if there are more people running for the board that open seats then the board could appoint someone else to fill the vacancy until the election in November. No action was taken at this time.
- G. Discussion on next district meeting. Chief Amerson told the Board that the Call for Election will be on the July meeting and that election petitions can be picked up.
- Reports and Correspondence
- Fire Chief Report: None.
- Fire Marshal Report. None.
- Future Agenda Items
- None.
Adjournment. MOTION:Brenda Straw made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Belinda Akes. MOTION PASSED 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 1835 hours.
