White River Township Fire Department

                                                Senior Staff Meeting

           

                                                Thursday, July 28, 2005

 

 

                       

Present:

Chief Tibbetts

Chief Cassin

Chief Slauter

Chief Wilson

Chief Brown

Chief Thacker

Chief Engmark

Kim Clawson

 

 

 

  1. Chief Tibbetts addressed time sheet problem with the Battalion Chiefs.  He said he would also address these at regular staff later today.
    1. If you claim overtime hours, explain what you were doing to accrue overtime.
    2. If you take time off, list where to deduct it from.
    3. Be sure to sign time sheet and date it.
    4. If you have 120 hours or more of comp time on the books, and you accrue more, that additional amount will be paid out as overtime on your check.  This was the direction that Chief Tibbetts said he received at the last District Board meeting.
    5. Chief Tibbetts stated that on this payroll, there were ten people over 120 hours and of those, five were over 400 hours.  Chief Brown asked if most of these were original hires and Chief Tibbetts stated yes.
    6. Chief Tibbetts stated that the comp liability was down to just under $89,000 when before it was over $130,000.
    7. Chief Tibbetts stated that there was a lot of overtime on this last pay period but most of it was due to call back for runs.

 

  1. Chief Tibbetts reminded everyone that when you are in a vehicle, you are representing the Department.  We recently had an individual wearing a do-rag while driving one of our vehicles and it does not reflect well on the department.

 

  1. Wiseman and Brooks start Monday.  They will have two days of training and will then go to their shifts.  Chief Thacker stated that most of the part time personnel do not know the policies and procedures of the department.  Chief Slauter agreed.

 

  1. Shift changes:
    1. Jason Smith is going to C shift at station 51 during the night.
    2. Andrew Tames is going to A shift at station 51 during the night.
    3. Several shift changes have occurred on the B-shift.
    4. Chief Slauter stated that we would probably need to begin a part time hiring process soon.

 

  1. Chief Slauter asked what type of leeway the Battalion Chiefs had to make permanent shift moves.  He stated that everything needed to be cleared through him.  He reminded everyone that Engine 53 is going to Madison Township now.

 

  1. Scott Wiegle is on light duty.

 

  1. Chief Tibbetts asked for everyone’s input on putting Rescue 51 on Box 501.  Chief Engmark suggested perhaps conducting a trial period.  Chief Slauter does not want to make any changes until Bargersville’s second station is open.  After much discussion, it was agreed to table this until the next Senior Staff meeting when Captain Settles could be present. 

 

  1. FYI, the personnel helping at the fair were off duty and volunteering, even though the Department was at minimum staffing.  This led to a discussion on personnel not knowing about minimum staffing when it occurs because they no longer have pagers.  Chief Tibbetts will work with Chief Slauter on possible solutions.  Chief Thacker stated that we need to remind people that the 2 hour minimum wasn’t in effect for call backs until recently.

 

  1. Chief Tibbetts stated that he has heard ‘grumblings’ from people about not getting any overtime.  Chief Slauter stated that it is because the overtime list is not being used correctly.

 

  1. Chief Thacker distributed a draft of the proposed drug testing policy.  This is currently in use in two departments in Marion County and was approved for one of them by Brian Bosma.  Chief Thacker stated that the next step in this policy is legal review.  He also stated that someone needs to be appointed as the drug policy representative and that this person needs to be very trustworthy and must understand strict confidentiality.

 

  1. Chief Thacker stated that he will be starting the performance reviews soon.

 

  1. Chief Wilson submitted safety guideline for use of the cones.  Chief Thacker passed this around for everyone’s review.

 

  1. Chief Thacker stated that if someone misses or forgets their physical appointment, to just let him know and it can be rescheduled.

 

  1. Chief Thacker stated that he has a house on Morgantown Road that we will be using for training.

 

  1. Chief Slauter reminded everyone that we have an SOG that we are not to use hydrants in Friendly Village.  This is a private system and are not properly maintained.  This will be addressed at the regular staff meeting.