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Dammeron Valley Fire Special Service District
Approved Minutes of November 15, 2013 Public Hearing
Dammeron Valley Fire SSD
Approved Minutes of Public Hearing Held November 15, 2013
Meeting Place: Dammeron Valley Fire Station - Training Room
1261 N Dammeron Valley Drive East, Dammeron Valley, UT 84783
ACB Members Present: Chairman Mack Sorensen
Treasurer Craig Meyocks
Member at Large Mac Thomson
ACB Members Absent: Clerk William King
Member at Large Gary Jensen
Meeting called to order by Chairman Mack Sorensen at approximately 7:01PM.
1. Amendment of 2013 Budget
Chairman Mack Sorensen advised one of the purposes of the Public Hearing was to balance the 2013 Budget accounts and add the $50K the SSD will receive from DVLA for replacement of out of date equipment. Craig Meyocks made a motion "I make a motion we add the $50K to our budget", Mac Thomson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Craig Meyocks advised the SSD needed to move some line items in the budget so none of the accounts were below $0, and there was enough money in the accounts being used to finish out 2013. So the following plan should cover these issues:
A. Move 6330 Fuel & Oil ($2654.35), 6610 Prof fees Acct ($550.00), and 6630 Radio/Comm Devices ($428.33) to 60200 Auto Expense (-$2636.20) which will leave a positive balance to finish out the year of: $996.48
B. Move $540.45 from 6730 Supplies to 63300 Insurance Expense (-$540.35) to balance, leaving $530.55 in 6730 Supplies
C. Move 6300 Misc Equipment ($2601.78), 6375 Licenses, Misc Fees ($1952.50), and 6820 Training & Education ($1846.17) to 67200 Repairs and Maint (-$971.39) to give a balance of: ($5429.06) to finish out the year.
D. Move ($175.49) from 6600 Printing & Reproduction to 65500 Equip Fire Fighting to cover (-$175.49)
E. Move the balance $530.55 of 6730 Supplies, and balance of 6600 Printing & Reproduction ($659.51) to 64900 Office Supplies (-$68.94) to give positive balance of: $1121.12 to finish year.
F. Move 6490 Medical Equip & Supplies ($1891.83) to 66700 Professional Fees for balance of ($2211.83) to finish out year.
Craig Meyocks advised the account numbers quoted were from the original budget for the SSD, and the new account numbers are the ones generated by Quickbooks, all of the accounting has been changed over to Quickbooks now.
Chairman Sorensen made a motion "that we accept the changes as outlined here", Mac Thomson seconded the motion, the motion passed unanimously.
2. DVFSSD 2014 Budget
Chief Szczerbiak outlined some revisions of the 2014 Budget from the posted Proposed 2014 Budget. Since becoming an SSD, we have updated equipment and the fire trucks are all licensed and insured, and DVLA has contributed to the replacement of the out of date equipment so DVFSSD is doing very well. It should also be noted by converting to the SSD we have removed the liability assumed by the Fire Department and Emergency Medical Response Units from the Dammeron Valley residents. If the Chief or any of his crew made a mistake on any call before the SSD was formed, the residents would have been liable for any monetary judgments of any lawsuit which may have been brought on the account of these mistakes. Now it is not that way, after a claim reaches the maximum amount of our insurance, Washington County is responsible for the balance, not DV residents. So liability of the residents is no longer an issue.
With the revisions of the proposed budget we're trying to get the flat fee to somewhere around $170 per year. The DVLA fee was $300, we're shooting for $170. The proposed budget was $135,500, the revised budget for consideration tonight is $119,500.
Chairman Sorensen advised the Chief was asked to reduce the budget where it was practical. This budget amount will be covered by a continued support from DVLA of $30K which they have already budgeted in 2013, there will be at least $9500 in grants to help cover the budget, leaving $80K to be covered by the flat fee. We cannot tell you the exact amount of the fee tonight as we're waiting on the exact amount of lots which will be assessed the fee, that information is coming from the Washington County Auditor's Office and we should receive that around the 1st of December.
A question was asked about exempted lots, Chairman Sorensen advised there were exempted lots in DVLA but not in DVFSSD. The unofficial number we have based projections on is 480 participants, but that figure has to be confirmed by the Auditor. There may be some government owned lots that will be exempt, but no privately owned lots are exempt.
A question arose about the attorney fees, Chairman Sorensen advised he has been accused of two felonies since being on the Board and the SSD attorney has to look into these issues. Craig Meyocks advised all legal documents like the Bylaws had to be reviewed by an attorney before putting them in place. We hope to not have to spend this amount on legal fees.
A question was asked about the Fire Equipment line item, Chairman Sorensen advised when the SSD was first formed there was an estimate of $150K of equipment needing to be replaced due to it being out of date. The Fire Chief has been able to work this out and has replaced most of this equipment for $50K.
A question about the License and Fees was raised, the Fire Chief advised the licenses are for radios and equipment checks. This is due to State mandated inspections.
A question about the $10,500 amount for equipment, the Fire Chief advised it was due to having to maintain medical equipment. New regulations require shorter shelf lives for drugs we have to have on hand, and the cost of these has continued to go up.
Mike Thomas asked why we're involved in medical responses, if that was a requirement of the County. Fire Chief advised this was not required by the County, but it brings shorter response times to residents who are in need of emergency medical services. We are not a transporting agency at this time, but that may change this next year. Depending on where in our area the medical emergency is, the wait for transport is substantial. DVFSSD cannot bill for these services until they become a transporting agency.
Rick Johnson asked if we could have Gold Cross Ambulance Service park an ambulance in our station. The Fire Chief advised the area is served by multiple ambulance services, so we could not pick one to house an ambulance for. The ambulance services that serve our area run out of ambulances frequently, so the only life saving resources available to residents is DVFSSD.
Jim Johnson advised the flat fee proposed, $170.00, is far less than other places he is involved in. The DVFSSD flat fee is unbelievably low and the Fire Chief should get a pat on the back.
Sheri Mandell asked if we could have other SSD's on our borders kick in part of the fees to offset DVFSSD's costs. The Fire Chief responded by saying the other SSD's respond and help us when we have other needs and it would not be feasible to charge them for our services.
Sheri Mandell asked if the accounting fee of $500.00 was too low. It was not felt that it was too low at this time, but the Board will keep tabs on it.
Ken Mandell asked if the Radios and Comm Devices would be an annual cost, the Fire Chief advised that would most likely be as the radios are very expensive to replace if they are damaged or need repair.
Frank Shear asked what the Internet Expense was for, Chairman Sorensen advised it was for the phones being used by Fire Department personnel.
Ken Mandell advised the Board should attempt to better educate the residents as to what all is needed to fund the Fire Department. He stated many residents have questions about the Fire Department Budget. Chairman Sorensen advised they will try to do a better job with that.
The total income needed by the Fire Department for 2014 is $119,500.00, DVLA will pay $30,000.00 as they have already committed to that at their 2013 Annual Meeting, $9500.00 will come from grants that the Fire Chief will apply for, and the balance, $80,000.00 will be the amount divided up among the residents and used to calculate the flat fee. The DVFSSD Board has been committed to lowering cost and making services better, this marks the first time we've had a reduction in fees for several years. We will continue to watch over the costs of all services and make reductions where possible in the future.
Craig Meyocks made a motion "I make a motion with the changes we'll make to our budget that we accept this budget", Mac Thomson seconded the motion, the motion
passed unanimously.
Chairman Sorensen made a motion "that we close this meeting", Craig Meyocks seconded the motion.