Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee

City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes Special Meeting, June 21, 2010 The Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee held a special meeting on Monday, June 21, 2010, at 5:00 p.m. in room 209, City Hall, Norwich, Connecticut 1. Roll Call a. Members Present: Karen Mankowski, Occum Joshua Pothier, Assistant Comptroller Thomas Quinley, Yantic Red McKeon, Occum/Past Chairman Donald Leary, East Great Plain Frank Davis, Citizen Appointee Joseph Kochanski, Laurel Hill b. Members Absent: Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller Brian Curtin, City Treasurer Richard Benoit, Taftville Brigid Marks, City of Norwich Personnel Manager Thomas Quinley called the meeting to order at 5:06 p.m. 2. Minutes: a. Minutes from the May 24, 2010, meeting were reviewed. A motion to accept the minutes as presented was made by Joshua Pothier, seconded by Donald Leary. Approved. 3. Treasurer’s Report: To be reviewed at the next meeting 4. Special Meeting: a. Department feedback on proposed changes to the Relief Fund Ordinance: 1. Laurel Hill – a. item #5, the numbers are good b. on item #3, there is a question about the “return to work” part. i. Joe Kochanski stated that non-members of the Releif Fund believe that they should not have to fill out a form to return to active duty status. ii. Frank Davis stated that the process for return to active duty status should be uniform across the City. Take the individuals out of the equation, the Relief Fund and the Volunteer Departments should follow a similar process as the rest of the City to eliminate areas of confusion. iii. Action – the Committee is waiting for the form to be presented by Brigid Marks.  City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes Special Meeting, June 21, 2010 c. Occum – 40 years of service was viewed by some as a “bit much”, however support was favorable. d. EGP – Passed unanimously with a concern regarding call requirements and percentage numbers. The Department proposes that the requirement should be 20% or ~150 calls. Don Leary took an action to get more information and to come back to the Committee with a draft proposal for review. i. Buyback option discussed. Last buyback was to cover all participating personnel. There are no plans for a buy back. Relief Fund participants were all caught up at that time. e. Use uniform criteria for all medicals citywide. Committee members state that it is important to have. f. Yantic membership at the last monthly meeting voted unanimously in favor of the proposed changes. g. Comptroller’s Office – in favor of uniformity and consistency between departments. h. Possible future discussion regarding the call requirement and proposal brought forward by EGP. The Committee is awaiting a written draft. i. Cadets – Red McKeon discussed the cadet status. i. 18yr olds – only in the “hot zone” if properly trained. Cadets age 16 and 17 are not allowed. ii. Add draft for allowing cadets to buyback 2 years of service at ages 16 & 17 with all the same criteria. j. The total number of calls for Laurel Hill average approximately 10 per month or 120 calls per year. The next special meeting will be held Monday, July 19, 2010. A motion was made by Frank Davis to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Donald Leary. Approved. Meeting adjourned at 1755 hrs.  City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes Special Meeting, June 21, 2010 Respectfully submitted, Thomas G. Quinley Secretary