2016 11-15 CC PACKET - Laserfiche WebLink

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Department: Fire (1210) Fund:. General (1000) Budget Activities :(co nt. ): Annually, the City receives. State aid to help finance mandated payments to the Fire Relief Association for the membership retirement account. A 2% fee applied to all property insurance policies in Minnesota. provides the funding for this support. During the 2013 legislative session the State approved a supplemental aid to 5e paid. to departments to increase the payment to the relief. association. This additional funding is expected to continue in future years. The .State's contributions over the. last six years and the related amount of change from the previous year. are as follows: Year . Amount Change 2016 $231,628 $ 2,775 2015 228.,853 12,046 2014 21.6,807 (1,407) 2013 218,21 .62r966 2012 1551248 11878 20.11 153,370 .(6,510) Budget Summary: As the budget messages in. other departments have indicated, 2016 is a year filed with opportunities for management and employees to review the current department procedures, figure out the best practices and :determine what model works best for delivering high quality services to. our residents and the community as a whole. The Fire Department is no different and. has been working through these processes as long- time employees begin to think about a change in their work status. and retirement. The first change will occur in the Fire Inspector position. During 20.16. the employee met the necessary requirements of the Phased Retirement Option through the Public Employees Retirement Association and decided to use this plan to work towards his retirement. This process allows an employee to transition from full-time employment to retirement by working reduced hours, which offers the City an opportunity to plan for the change in workforce and transfer position specific responsibilities to other staff members. The original plan was .to end this option in 2015, however, the reduced position was. continued. through the: end of 2016. The savings in the..salary reduction in this position offsets increases in other expenditure accounts within the Personal Services budget section. As the department looks to filling the vacancy, an assessment of inspections services offered through bath the Gity's. Fire and Building Departments needs to be done to analyze the most effective way to handle all inspections and eliminate any duplicate work in providing the services. The second major change will take place with: the retirement of the Department's Chief. Many facets of the job have changed through the years with the use of new technology and the dynamics of finding qualified people willing to serve their community through