PonceInletFL - 08/24/2009 Special Town Council Minutes

5. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 09/10. Mayor Goudie asked about holding an additional budget meeting on August 31, 2009 but both Vice-Mayor Davis and Councilmember McCormick will be out of town. Therefore, the next budget workshop was scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 9:00 am. The police department budget was then discussed as it had not been completed at the last budget meeting. From Councilmember Derr: she had questions regarding when the Chief of Police, Commander or Detective acted as a second patrol officer. Chief Thomas stated that these positions cover personal leave as needed and are used as additional officers for special events as well as other miscellaneous items. Overtime could not be helped, per Chief Thomas, as there might be a late arrest, late call or court dispositions. She also inquired about why there might be more than two officers on duty at a time and Chief Thomas responded that this meant an officer was in a training class. BL (bereavement leave and ML (military leave) was also explained. Questions were raised about the PAL officer and Chief Thomas stated that this officer receives the same training as the police officers and is fully sworn and can assist the as a police officer. Line item 4610 regarding tires for the eight vehicles and how many miles are there on the patrol vehicles? Chief Thomas explained that historically, he has always budgeted for two sets of tires per vehicle but if the money is not spent it will go back into the reserves and that are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 miles on the cars. 4120- why was there an increase in postage? Per Chief Thomas, $622 is for maintenance and the rest is for shipping of items that need to be recalibrated or recertified. Ms. Clauss explained that each department’s share of the postage meter is based on a percentage and that the additional costs are for items that need to be shipped out. Chief Thomas explained other points about the police department including the mandatory state required minimum training (2 hours and the department requires 2 hours done in-house). Emergency set-up during disasters is at the YMCA in Port Orange and the dispatch is fully functional because all necessary equipment is brought along. There is no further need to purchase additional firearms for the department. From Vice-Mayor Davis: why are they no more vehicles being purchased? Why do we need an unmarked police vehicle? Chief Thomas explained that there is no need for new vehicles as the current vehicles have regular maintenance done on them. The unmarked police vehicle, the Charger, is the least expensive of all of the vehicles and there are times when there is a need for an unmarked police vehicle. Vice-Mayor Davis inquired about the overlapping “person in charge” shift coverage to which Chief Thomas replied that the police department matches it counterparts in scheduling these personnel in order to maintain a working relationship because most work is done during the day. The day shift is on the 7 am to 3 pm schedule but the police department is open 24 hours. The Vice-Mayor also asked about the retirement for the part-time employee and the police chief stated that the Florida Retirement System was set by the state. She wanted to have more information about the motorcycle and who was qualified to operate it (she also stated that the citizens liked the motorcycle). Chief Thomas replied that Corporal Mead, Commander Lurcock as well as himself were motorcycle qualified and that Corporal Rodriguez was being trained. The motorcycle is also a benefit as it holds down the mileage on the patrol cars. Form Mayor Goudie: Will there be any arsenal inventory increases and are the guns re-used? Chief Thomas stated that all guns are department issued and if an employee is terminated, the guns are re-issued to the new employee, so yes, they are re-useable. Mayor Goudie wanted an explanation of why there were 8 air cards issued to department employees. Chief Thomas deferred this question to Chief Scales who explained that the current Blackberries did not support the current data transfer and that the air cards allowed personnel to work from their computers while away from the office; right now, the air cards are cheaper than purchasing Blackberries. 4600 account- Communications International does radio repairs and maintenance and the police department have approximately 15 radios. 3450 account JBT helpdesk charges are based on a percentage for each town department but this also includes warranty renewals, etc. Mayor Goudie wanted to know why polygraphs were given to new hires as this is not recognized in a court of law and Chief Thomas explained that this is one of seven tests and helps to get a better understanding of the candidate. From Councilmember Derr: How do you figure out the costs for depositions? Chief Thomas stated that this was only an estimate but will get with the HR department to track the spending on overtime for this. Discussions were finished on the Police Department and Mayor Goudie asked Chief Scales to go into the budget for the Fire Department. Chief Scales started off by saying that the budget is actually $100,000 less than it was last year and the main focus is on maintenance of equipment and cutting overtime/ training costs. Mayor Goudie asked how he liked the new fire truck and Chief Scales responded that the new truck is wonderful and that the old truck was traded in. From Vice-Mayor Davis: She had many questions regarding the Fire Marshal and his duties and wanted to know if the condos could hire their own inspectors. Could a firefighter be trained to do the inspections? Chief Scales stated that the Fire Marshal does more than just fire inspections (he is also a certified firefighter/ EMT, certified fire marshal and does many other utility functions for the department). He is also available 24/7 where as a State Fire Marshal is not. Currently, Lt Derek George is certified to do fire inspections but it would be logistically impossible for him to both fire inspections and his regular shift duties. In response to the condos doing their own inspections, Chief Scales stated that it has do with a level of quality and with consistencies. He is fully responsible for all inspections and therefore has authority over jurisdiction over inspections which mean the town would be liable for any inconsistencies with any inspections done by an outside source. Vice-Mayor asked about how the IT stipend was paid out and Chief Scales stated that it was divided amongst the town departments. She asked if we needed to have three firefighters per shift and Chief Scales said no but this was more of a safety issue for both the firefighters and residents. The Vice-Mayor asked for the Chief to explain the role of the RCC system and why did we need them. Chief Scales stated that in April 2004, fire dispatch services went to a shared dispatch center which differs from the police department because the dispatcher are specifically trained for fire-related calls and that aid is automated (which means they know where agencies has equipment for particular types of calls and will automatically dispatch their services). He also explained what mutual aid meant (an agency will respond if they have the manpower to offer assistance). Approximately $6000 is paid to RCC and this is based upon an on-call basis. There is also a data connectivity fee associated with RCC which is about $1900. Vice-Mayor Davis asked about the conditions of the vehicle and Chief Scales responded to this stating the year, make and conditions. She also wanted to know if there was a state code for the amount of firefighters needed per shift and the fire chief states that there is a state code which dictates EMS coverage of two people but three would be the absolute minimum due to the two in-two out rule. There are some personnel trained in water rescue as well. Mayor Goudie asked about cell phones and Chief Scales stated that they were just a tool and not a perk. The only people who take home phones are himself and the Fire Marshal. The Mayor inquired about donations made to the fire department to which Chief Scales stated that currently all donations go into the general ledger but he would like to establish an account. Councilmember Derr asked about the role of the administrative assistant and Chief Scales stated that she performs many functions not only for the fire department but also for the town. Councilmember McCormick asked if the fire inspection fees covered the salary of the Fire Marshal and Chief Scales stated that it was close to covering it. He also explained the EMS County Model to the council at the request of the Mayor. This is a two-tier system which is the first tier is EMS and the second tier is EVAC. The average response time for our fire department is 3 minutes 30 seconds. Rescue 78 is fully certified as an advanced life support vehicle and could transport if necessary. From the citizens: Margaret Ann McCormick, 94 Rains Courts, stated she was very impressed with the tour of the new fire truck given by Driver/ Engineer Steven Bell and how he explained it that it was designed for safety and efficiency. She commends Chief Scales and Steven Bell. Tom Rutledge, 68 Beverly Hills, asked several questions to Chief Thomas regarding firearm training, accreditation and the fire boat. Chief Thomas responded to all. Mr. Rutledge also asked the Fire Chief about his administrative assistant position, which actually assists all departments due to the website area of her responsibilities.