Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee

City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes Meeting 120 January 10, 2011 The Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee held its 120th meeting on Monday, January 10, at 5:00 p.m. in room 209, City Hall, Norwich, Connecticut 1. Roll Call a. Members Present: Richard Benoit, Taftville Red McKeon, Occum/Past Chairman Thomas Quinley, Yantic Donald Leary, East Great Plain Karen Mankowski, Occum Joshua Pothier, Assistant Comptroller Frank Davis, Citizen Appointee b. Members Absent: Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller Brian Curtin, City Treasurer Joseph Kochanski, Laurel Hill Brigid Marks, City of Norwich Personnel Manager Richard Benoit called the meeting to order at 5:12 p.m. 2. Minutes: None – Review of the December meeting minutes moved to the February meeting. 3. Treasurer’s Report: None A motion to suspend the meeting’s Rules of Order was made by Thomas Quinley, seconded by Frank Davis. Approved. 1. Richard Benoit presented a letter from Charles Miclette requesting that the Committee review his percentages for calls for the year 2010. Mr. Miclette states in the letter that during the first of half of the year he was out on Worker’s Compensation for approximately 5 weeks. Mr. Miclette did not meet the minimum requirement for 20% participation. He is requesting that the Committee consider waiving the 20% requirement so that he may participate in the Fund this year. a. Committee members requested Mr. Miclette’s participation percentage for the time-period not affected by the Worker’s Compensation absence. This information was not available. b. Mr. Benoit made a recommendation to table the review until that information could be obtained and reviewed by the Committee. c. A motion was made by Thomas Quinley to table the letter until the February meeting so that the requested information could be obtained. Seconded by Red McKeon, approved.  City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes Meeting 120 January 10, 2011 2. Richard Benoit provided each of the Committee members a copy of a modified Buy- Back form for the members purchasing years in excess of 35 years of service based on the recent Plan Ordinance Revision. 3. Josh Pothier asked that the members review the new proposed reporting form for documenting Volunteer Firefighter Service information. There was a brief discussion about the method of reporting drills and the Committee members recommended that the form be changed to reflect the number of drills a member participates in and the percentage of drills versus the draft form that uses hours. It was also suggested that the preparer also have a signature block on the form for verification purposes. a. Josh Pothier took the action to revise the form and send out a revised clean copy to each of the Committee members for their use. 4. Election of Relief Fund Committee Officers for 2011. a. A motion was made by Red McKeon to keep the current slate of officers, seconded by Donald Leary. Approved. b. The Secretary, Thomas Quinley, was instructed to cast a single vote for the slate nominated. Unanimously approved. c. Slate of Officers elected: Richard Benoit, Chair; Brigid Marks, Co-Chair; Thomas Quinley, Secretary. 5. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be on February 14, 2011. Art Meizner of Hooker & Holcombe will be attending to provide an update on the Relief Fund’s Financial Status. 6. There was a brief discussion by the Committee members regarding a draft ordinance currently being reviewed by the City Council, recognizing the Volunteer Firefighters’ service between adjoining towns. The intent of this ordinance is to promote the reciprocal acceptance of volunteer firefighter service information for tax abatement purposes. a. Josh Pothier clarified that no money is exchanged between towns. Rather this is merely a method of documenting and accepting members’ proof of volunteer firefighter service. A motion was made by Tom Quinley to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Don Leary. Approved. Meeting was adjourned at 6:05 pm. Respectfully submitted, Thomas G. Quinley Secretary