Waunakee Area Fire District

Waunakee Area Fire District 401 West Second Street Waunakee, WI 53597-0472 September 2024 Fire District Meeting Minutes September 23, 2024 The Regular Monthly Meeting of the Waunakee Area Fire District was called to order by Chairperson John Cuccia. Roll call showed in attendance: John Cuccia, Nila Frye, Gary Endres, Matt Wright, Kristin Runge, Deputy Chief Ryan Schwab, and Batt. Chief Brian Adler. Absent – Robert McPherson and Chief Gary Hansen. Compliance with Open Meeting Laws: Chairperson Cuccia asked if we were compliant with Open Meeting Laws, and it was determined that we were. Public Comment: None Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by Nila Frye and a second was made by Matt Wright to approve the August 2024 Meeting Minutes. Motion carried. Bills: A motion was made by Gary Endres and a second was made by Kristin Runge to approve the August 2024 bills. Motion carried. Old Business: 1. Fire Department Study – Batt. Chief Adler started the discussion by explaining the difference between mutual aid and automatic aid when requesting our neighboring departments for assistance. WFD currently prefers mutual aid, which gives us the opportunity to confirm if assistance is needed before adding neighboring departments to a call. The board then discussed acting on some of the recommendations presented by McMahon’s study of the district/department. These include the creation of a fire commission, removing the department from the intergovernmental agreement, establishing a finance sub-committee, conducting an annual audit of the district, review the existing district agreement by a municipal law attorney, add a dispute resolution to the district agreement, establish a process for consideration and adoption of amendments to the agreement, establish a policy on budget adoption, budget for an exhaust removal system, and create/update job descriptions. The Village of Waunakee would also like to accord a greater proportion of the vote on both the district board and fire commission to the Village of Waunakee in recognition of the greater cost burden and safety burden shouldered by the Village. The board also discussed the hiring of a full-time fire chief and what are the triggers that will require the hiring of a full-time chief. Each of these items is to be listed separately on the October agenda. Tabled. New Business: 1. 2025 Budget – A motion was made by Nila Frye and seconded by Kristin Runge to change the order of the new business items. Motion carried. 2. Battalion Chief’s 2025 salary – A motion was made by Nila Frye and seconded by Gary Endres to go into closed session to discuss the Battalion Chief’s 2025 salary. Motion carried. After discussion, a motion was made by John Cuccia and seconded by Kristin Runge to approve a 12% pay increase for the Battalion Chief’s 2025 salary. Motion carried. A motion was then made by Nila Frye and seconded by Kristin Runge to go back into open session. Motion carried. 1  3. 2025 Budget – Batt. Chief Adler presented the completed 2025 Budget to the board and explained where increases were needed. A motion was made by Gary Endres and seconded by John Cuccia to approve the FD’s 2025 Budget. Motion carried. Other Business: No other business. Fire Inspector’s Report: Battalion Chief/Inspector Adler shared the August 2024 fire run report. Next Meeting: October 28, 2024 Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Kristin Runge and a second was made by Gary Endres. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Brian Adler Battalion Chief/Fire Prevention Inspector Waunakee Area Fire District 2