White River Township Fire Protection District
Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, May 1, 2002  ~  7:00 p.m.

=================================================================================

District Board Members Present:  Paul Kite, Bill Patterson, Chuck Shufflebarger, and Butch Sutton.

District Employees Present:  Mike Tibbetts, Eric Brown, Carey Slauter, Joe Settles, and Kim Clawson.

Others Present:  Eric Reedy, Trish Leminger, and Jeff Stainfield

==================================================================================

  1. Meeting called to order at 1908 hours.  Minutes from April 2002 meeting reviewed.   Motion made by Bill and 2nd by Chuck to accept minutes as written.  All in favor and motion carries.
  1. Eric Reedy gave a financial update:

Cumulative Fund      278,016
            Debt                         295,845
            General                    -550,611
            Rainy Day Fund         101,654
            ’00 Capital                     3,784
            ’01 Capital                 371,178
            TOTAL                     499,449  

 Eric stated that our CAGIT draw is coming soon and should be approximately $1,310,000.

  1. Chief Tibbetts is still working on the sale of the Zodiac. 
  1. Chief Tibbetts stated that we are still working out the details of the contract but it should be finalized soon.
  1. Chief Cassin forwarded a request for the Board to review in his absence regarding the Nextel phones.  He is requesting $2,800 be approved which will give the rest of the officers Nextels, as well as reduce our current monthly contract.  This will give us at least 7 more phones which will improve communications between the officers.   A copy of the original proposal, dated February 10, was found, photocopied and re-distributed to Board members present (Attachment A).   The members did not feel that they had enough information present to make a firm decision.  They requested Chief Cassin research what we are paying now and find out what our new monthly commitment would be after these phones are added.  All further action tabled until the June meeting where Chief Cassin will be present. 
  1. Chief Tibbetts informed the Board members that our current line item for the health insurance will be depleted by August.  Further discussion followed:

                        -  We had experienced numerous problems with our previous agent, resulting in our petitioning the company  
                            for a change of agent.  Jeanne Salin is our new agent and has been working regularly with us to work out
                            the problems.

    - Chief Tibbetts distributed a handout showing what he believes our current options are (Attachment B).  Page 1 is the current cost per month; page 2 is the difference from 2001 to 2002; page 3 are the 2002 costs; pages 4 and an are from Jeanne.  Note that the $500 deductible is more expensive monthly than the $0 deductible is.

    - Eric Reedy also provided an analysis for 2002.  (Attachment C)

    - We cannot attach ourselves to another company.

    - There is no wellness benefit – the health of the employee will show when the review the annual ‘experience’ of the policy.

    -  Chief Tibbetts stated that no district employee expect the Board to pay 100% of everything.

    - Chuck suggested that we find another fire department and tag onto their policy.

    - Chuck also suggested that we research and find out if we can join with another department in an effort to become partially self-insured.

    - Chief Tibbetts stated that the employees that he has discussed this with agreed that an 80/20 split for premiums would be fair.

    - Butch suggested that we standardize the policy for health insurance and define the reimbursable limit.

    - Chuck and Butch agree that the budget has not been increased enough over the years to accommodate the projected annual premium increases.

    - Everyone agreed that a compromise could be met but that budget line item amounts could not be shared between personnel.

    - We realize at this time that something needs to be done to insure there is enough money for next year.  However, the priority is fixing this year’s budget first.

    - Paul directed Chief Tibbetts to form a committee to determine possible solutions and define the reimbursable limit. 

  1. At last month’s meeting, Chief Slauter requested $2059 to purchase CPR mannequins and related training videos/manuals.  It was tabled at that time to allow legal to determine if it fit into the definition of cumulative fund.  Trish reports tonight that it does indeed fit those criteria.  Motion by Chuck and 2nd by Bill to approve the request.  All in favor and motion carries.
  1. Eric Reedy distributed copies of the new fiscal plan and briefly discussed some of the more important items.  (Attachment D)
  1. Chief Tibbetts reported that the roof at station 52 was leaking again and requested permission from the Board to contact someone to repair it.  All in favor.
  1. No further new business and meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.