Meeting Minutes
Pursuant to Title 29, Delaware Code, Chapter 100, the Delaware Council on Volunteer Fire Service, created by House Bill 190 of Delaware’s 141st General Assembly, held a meeting in Kent County on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. at the Haslet Armory at 122 William Penn Street, Dover, DE 19901 in the second floor conference room #133. The meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m. and was attended by:
Valerie Watson, Department of Finance
Richard Toulson, President, Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (DVFA)
Richard Perillo, New Castle County Firefighter’s Association
Michael Layton, Kent County Firefighter’s Association
Ray Stevens, Sussex County Firefighter’s Association
Erin Guerke, Office of the State Treasury
A motion to approve the minutes of the June 24, 2013 meeting, with corrections, was made by Mr. Perillo and seconded by Mr. Layton. The motion carried.
Status of Revolving Loan Fund
Valerie Watson reported on the status of the Revolving Loan Fund. There are nine loans outstanding, the principal of which represents an amount totaling $1.1 million. All loans are current. The Townsend Fire Company prepaid its loan balance of $74,626.19 on December 3, 2013. The available balance in the Fund is $1,062,777.76.
At the last meeting, the balance was reported as $1,365,875.96. That was an overstatement of $20.00 due to a data entry error, which was detected during a reconciliation of the Fund. The balance was corrected to $1,365,855.96.
Review and approval of loan applications
Two loan applications were presented to the Council for review and approval. Both applications were from the Claymont Fire Company. The first application was a request for $273,211.00 to purchase a new pumper rescue trunk. The term is ten years with semi- annual payments. All submitted documents were in order, and Mr. Perillo made a motion to approve the application. After Mr. Layton seconded the motion, the motion carried.
The second application was a request for $238,644.00 to purchase a new pumper. The term is also ten years with semi-annual payments. All submitted documents were in order, and a motion to approve the application was made by Mr. Layton, seconded by Mr. Stevens. The motion carried.
Annual Financial Audit as a Loan Application Requirement
The Council discussed the idea of adding a requirement to the loan application process that fire companies must have submitted their annual financial audits to the Delaware State Fire Prevention Commission in a timely manner in order to be considered for a loan. Mr. Layton made a motion to amend the current application to include a copy of the confirmation letter that the most recent audit had been submitted to the Fire Commission. Mr. Stevens seconded the motion which carried. Ms. Watson will add the requirement to the list of items that must be submitted with the loan application.
Other Business
The Council discussed the need to expand the types of equipment/ apparatus that would qualify for a loan. There is a precedent for funding breathing apparatus, which was approved for Citizen House Fire Company in the amount of $31,000. As a result of this discussion, the following motion was made by Mr. Layton: Amend the maximum lending limits to add breathing apparatus and/or SCBAs, radios, firefighter turnout gear. Additionally, amend the loan application by removing the “used” box and change “protective equipment” to “personal protective equipment”. A definition of “accessory equipment” would be added: any equipment used to support fire rescue and EMS; for example, hoses, saws and fans. Mr. Stevens seconded the motion, which carried.
Ms. Guerke stated that today’s meeting would be her last. Rebecca Zink will be replacing her on the Council. Mr. Toulson stated that he will be retiring in September 2014.
After a motion to adjourn, which was made by Mr. Perillo and seconded by Mr. Toulson, the meeting ended at approximately 10:05 a.m.