Council 9/13

I attended Council on 9/13 and here's what I heard
Fire equipment out of date and needs replaced. This is unfortunate, but I'm pleased Matt M designated most of the money ($70K of $75K) so it's not a surprise.

Apology to Dennis. I am convinced the "What" of re-assigning committees is a great tool, however "How" I delivered it was insensitive. And I said so. Bringing the "tow chain" to council to pull a stuck idea out of the ditch is a good idea, only after I've informed those involved I'm bringing it. Dennis accepted my apology which was appreciated.

Trash Fees. I don't love taking fees up, but we made the call to take up both fixed and variable fees. Variable fee increases are higher too, which I think sends the right message. And we decided to maintain the 32Gal capacity. Dan told me my can was out of compliance which I think is true. We inherited that can from the Roberts in 2008, and shame on me for not checking its capacity. Good news, though is I have an old 32 gallon can (I think it's 32G) for yard waste, so I've made the change. Like Paul Tontillo says, we must "lead from the front".



After Council, I spent a few mins with Rick Hines to learn about overtime tracking & adding a 10th man in 2011. A big thank you to Rick for the helpful demo and explanation.

Overtime
Many components of OT are required and necessary. For instance, staying late on a shift to process a late arrest or a court appearance often trigger OT. This makes sense. Rick does a really nice job tracking the details of this program. I would like to investigate how to eliminate OT as part of the STEP program, however. It's a cash flow positive program which is great (speeding tickets > OT Salary costs), but it doesn't exempt it from the same financial scrutiny we apply everywhere else. We can eliminate more of the budget deficit by hiring more part time officers and paying them the lower hourly rate.

10th Officer in 2011
I think replacing the full time position left open in 2009 is a worthy consideration in 2011 as the economy improves and our income increases. However, I think it's appropriate to staff as a part time guy/girl. This is a great "probationary" period for a younger officer trying to come on. And it saves much of the costs vs the full time equivalent.


Cortney

Link to meeting video
www.icrctv.com