HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-22 Statement Letter te ryiffe 1880 Main S treet, Omumff4 WX SS038
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January 22, 2014
To: City of Lino Lakes
City of Circle Pines
With regard to the Joint Powers Agreement for Centennial Fire District and the proposed
amendment to Section 2.6.
For several weeks we have been struggling with the proposal of Lino Lakes to modify the
voting structure of the Fire Steering Committee. We have seriously considered proposals
by Lino Lakes, and have offered counterproposals, however, the only proposal Lino
Lakes representatives have been willing to accept is a veto authority.
Lino Lakes representatives contend that vetoes would be seldom used and will foster
cooperation and discussion, "better decisions." Yet no one can point to a decision that
would have been better had this provision been in affect. Over the past 28 plus years the
District has served its member communities well. Having reviewed meeting minutes,
only once the past ten years have both members of a city been on the losing end of a
motion. Disagreements have been rare and split votes more often occur where two
members of a single city disagree and vote differently. We looked at the organizational
structure of eight different joint powers fire protection entities and none give a single city
the power to veto action of the operating board.
The Steering Committee recommended that the cities consider an amendment that would
grant each city four vetoes per year. While some argue that veto authority would have
beneficial affect on the functioning of the Fire District, we respectfully disagree. We
believe that this provision would encourage micromanaging and delay. Again, history
shows that it is not needed and we cannot support such a drastic change to the governing
structure of the District.
We realize the tragedy of a decision by Lino Lakes to withdraw from the District and
have not considered this matter lightly. The three cities enjoy the highest quality service
and are among the lowest costs for fire protection in the metro area. The three cities have
had a great partnership and we hope Lino Lakes will choose to stay and not leave. We
believe that Centennial Fire District has a bright future regardless of which path Lino
Lakes takes.
Adopted by the City Council this 22 day of January, 2014