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City Council Regular Meeting - 08/09/04 Minutes -Page 28 FIRE DEPARTMENT BI.TTDGET Assistant Fire Chief Tim O'Neill provided, at City Manager Beets' direction, three separate (3) bench handouts providing statistical and comparison data supporting his recommendations. City Manager Beets presented the three recommendations for the 2005 Fire Department Budget, including hiring of a certified training officer to train on-duty firefighters in a variety of areas; response of qualified on-duty firefighters to vehicle accidents with injuries reported within the community; and fees implemented for permitting and inspecting daycare homes, foster care homes, and fireworks displays. Discussion items included training requirements and qualifications and related costs and benefits estimated to be revenue neutral; potential use of a training officer for other city departments (i.e., first responder, OSHA); potential benefits for Emergency Medical Training (EMT) for firefighters; impacts to emergency response times; increased liability concerns; current and proposed staffing programs; additional fees as authorized by State Code; and occupancy permit considerations. Assistant Fire Chief Tim O'Neill responded to Council questions as requested, as well as Fire Marshal John Loftus. John Kysylyczyn, 3083 N Victoria Street Mr. Kysylyczyn opined his appreciation to the Fire Department for the quality of this year's budget presentation compared to those presented in past years. Mr. Kysylyczyn commented on and asked several questions related to the proposed 2005 Fire Department budget: 1) Turnover of firefighers -related to training or other issues? 2) Response to vehicle accidents with injuries - is this going to institute an increase in budget or will it be absorbed into the existing budget? Mr. Kysylyczyn concurred with City Manager Beets' recommendation to try the proposal for six (6) months, with a review in June of 2005.