Meeting Minutes

1. CALL TO ORDER
   Chairman Gallitto called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
   The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

3. OPEN PUBLIC SESSION
   Chairman Gallitto opened public session at 7:02 p.m.
   No one wished to speak.

4. CLOSE PUBLIC SESSION
   Chairman Gallitto closed public session at 7:02 p.m.

5. MINUTES TO BE APPROVED
   A. REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 8, 2009
   MOTION to approve minutes of June 8, 2009 Regular Meeting by Comm. Roberts/Comm. Russo-Driska. Unanimously approved.

6. TAX COLLECTOR'S REPORT
   The Commission reviewed the Tax Collector's Report submitted by Tax Collector Cindy Gotta. Mrs. Gotta answered questions of the Commission members.

   Commissioner Gregorio stated that he recently had a couple of people complain to him that the Tax Office is not open on Mondays.

   Tax Collector Cindy Gotta stated that the bills that the taxpayers received and the ad in the paper stated that the office would be closed on Mondays and the traffic doesn't warrant the office to be open on Mondays. She also added that a drop box is available for easy access to the public. She continued to say that the office will be open on Monday August 3rd which is the last day to pay without penalty.

   Mrs. Gotta reported that to date we have collected approximately $439,000 in taxes.

   Mrs. Gotta brought up an issue of a taxpayer who owns a business at 117 East Main Street. He is asking that the Commission work with him in regards to back taxes owed on his property. The City of Middletown has worked out a deal with him.

   Commissioner Gallitto added that he spoke to the City Tax Collector and the man was aware of the back taxes when he purchased the property.

   The total owed on the property to date including taxes, interest and fees is just over $12,000.

   Commissioner Russo-Driska stated that she spoke to the property owner. The property has been delinquent since 1997. The taxpayer is willing to pay the taxes but he wants the interest eliminated. He is a police officer and the business he owns in the district is an automotive business.

   Further discussion ensued.

   MOTION to wave the interest only for the above mentioned property however the taxpayer must pay the principal amount owed within 90 days by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Gregorio. Unanimously approved.

   Commissioner Roberts brought forth a concern that we might now be setting a precedence for other taxpayers.

   Commissioner Russo-Driska responded by saying there are not that many situations such as this but we would take each case one by one. In this case, we had received nothing from this property since 1997 and it had environmental issues. This owner is willing to take responsibility for this property and pay the principal tax. He didn't acquire the back interest.

   MOTION to approve Tax Collector's Report by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Roberts. Unanimously approved.

   A. TAX REBATES
   There were no tax rebates.

7. MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORTS
   The Commission reviewed the reports submitted by Financial Advisor Sharon Maloney. Chief Badamo and Ms. Maloney answered questions of the Commission members.

   Ms. Maloney also did a year end review for the Commission.

   We received $82,000 more in income than anticipated. Investment income came in at $43,000 below what was anticipated. Prior year tax collections remained the same.

   Fire department salaries came in at approximately $71,000 below what we had budgeted for. This was mainly due to two firefighters resigning. Pension defined contribution came in at a reduction. Replacements and Callbacks came in over budget by $145, 875. The amount of money the two Firefighters would have been paid would still have kept fire department salaries in the negative. The entire cost of replacing them is in Replacements and Callbacks. That equaled $99,000. The actual difference in cost was $55,900.

   Ms. Maloney stated that there is a continuing problem in maintaining staff and she repeatedly hears that the pension is a big issue and hopes to see it addressed.

   Medical Insurance was another area that came in well over budget. That was due to not budgeting enough. Most line items came in under budget. Chief Badamo made sure expenses were kept within budget.

   Ms. Maloney went on to say that Life and Disability insurance went up. This is due to the fact that our premiums are based on salaries. We notified them last year of salary increases and that resulted in this increase. Since the raises are remaining fairly stable this year we will not see an increase in our premium.

   Ms. Maloney handed some information to the Commission members in regards to the defined benefit pension plan. Ms. Maloney reviewed the status of the plan. She stated that we need to be careful to not overfund the plan. She also stated that the Actuary estimated that for this year we put in $59,000.

   MOTION to approve Monthly Financial Reports by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Roberts. Unanimously approved.

8. CHIEF'S REPORT
   Chief Badamo reviewed his report and answered questions of the Commission members.

   Chief Badamo reported that the newly hired Firefighters have passed all of their entrance requirements, are currently on days and will be assigned to their Platoons the week of the 20th. They will be sworn in on July 17th at 7:00 p.m.

   One Firefighter has recently left and has taken a position with the Middletown Fire Department. Our only option to replace him is to hire off of our current list and send the new hire to school in September, graduate in December and have online as soon as possible after.

   The mottos have been installed onto the apparatus.

   The department recently participated in the annual Safety Standown Day. This year Deputy Chief Fongemie, Lt. Gamache and Firefighter Osiecki presented several different topics. We received a proclamation from the Mayor for the day.

   Commissioner Roberts asked Chief Badamo about a drill that was conducted last month at Pratt & Whitney. Chief Badamo explained that it was a simulation of a person trapped under one of the large machines. The purpose of the drill was to see what the response would be as far as what the staff at Pratt & Whitney could come up with and to see what we would come up with which was our air bag system which is what was used to free the trapped person.

   MOTION to approve Chief Edward Badamo's Report by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Sarcia. Unanimously approved.

9. DEPUTY CHIEF/FIRE MARSHAL'S REPORT
   The Commission reviewed the report submitted by Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal Steven Krol.

   Deputy Chief Krol added that he will soon be scheduling planning meetings for Fire Prevention Week which is held in October. He plans to incorporate some exhibitors that would usually take part in the Kid's Health and Safety Day which has been postponed until next June due to budgetary issues.

   MOTION to approve Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal Steven Krol's report by Comm. Russo- Driska/Comm. Gregorio. Unanimously approved.

10. DEPUTY CHIEF OF OPERATIONS REPORT
    Deputy Chief of Operations Marc Fongemie reviewed his report and answered questions of the Commission members.

    Deputy Chief Fongemie stated that Marine 3 is out at the dock and training has been conducted.

    Other training for the month of June included "To Hell and Back" which teaches awareness of Hydrogen Cyanide gas.

    The new Firefighters are doing very well and are anxious to get on the job.

    Deputy Chief Fongemie along with Firefighters Osiecki, Zajac and Tyrseck recently took part in a Multiple Sclerosis charity bike ride.

    Commissioner Roberts asked Deputy Chief Fongemie about the Middletown Sports Coaches Emergency Mitigation Meeting. Deputy Chief Fongemie explained that the meeting made coaches in schools more aware of how to react in an emergency situation such as thunderstorms, medical emergencies, etc. when they are outside of the schools.

    MOTION to approve Deputy Chief of Operations Marc Fongemie's report by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Roberts. Unanimously approved.

11. COMMISSIONER REPORTS
    Commissioner Gregorio stated that he has received a letter from the City of Middletown stating that there will be a meeting of the Fire Services Cost Committee on July 29th. He will be in attendance and hopes Chief Badamo and Commissioner Sarcia will be as well.

    Commissioner Roberts advised the Commission that the company that bought out Marino Crane transferred vehicles and other items to their base in Texas resulting in a loss of approximately $1.5 million in assessed property value to the district

    Commissioner Roberts also reported that he attended the most recent Telecommunic- ations meeting. Discussed at the meeting was a report regarding Emergency Medical Dispatch Compliance ratios. Chief Badamo explained the report.

    Commissioner Roberts stated that several people had brought forth concerns to him that due to job losses it would be easier to pay taxes if they could pay them in two payments instead of one.

    Commissioner Roberts continued by saying that yesterday he drove by an address on Training Hill Road where we responded recently to a fire. He stated that he spoke to the owner and the owner's son while there. He stated that the owner praised the department but his concern was the use of the fire hydrants near the house. Apparently the owner stated that there was a hydrant in front of the house that was not used. Chief Badamo responded to the concern by saying first that the information is not accurate. The first hydrant used was the one in front of the house that was on fire. The second hydrant down near the corner was not used until Middletown's Tower 1 arrived on scene.

    Further discussion ensued.

    As of right now the cause of the fire remains undetermined.

12. OLD BUSINESS
    None.

13. NEW BUSINESS
    Commissioner Gregorio stated that we obviously have an issue because we keep loosing Firefighters and it's upsetting. He said the reason being given is the pension. He is recommending that we put a small committee together made up of two Commissioners and two members of the Union in addition to other staff. He is willing to be on the committee himself. He said we keep putting the issue aside and it's time to step up to the plate and figure out what we can do regarding this issue.

    MOTION to form a committee to be made up of two Commissioners and two represent- atives from the Union and staff to investigate what we can do to better our pension by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Russo-Driska. Unanimously approved.

    Commissioner Russo-Driska said she would be happy to be on the Committee as she has experience with it on the city end and is very familiar with the firefighting contract on the city level.

    Commissioner Roberts added that bottom line is that the outcome must be cost-effective.

    Commissioner Roberts questioned the $5,000 that was included in the budget for actuarial services. He asked how that money is to be expended. Sharon Maloney responded by saying that the intent of the money was to be used for an evaluation of a potential bridge plan to allow Firefighters to collect some sort of pension prior to age 62.

    Commissioner Gregorio added that if we work on the issue as a team together, there is a good chance we can come up with something that's feasible for everyone.

    Commissioner Gregorio will send a formal letter to the Union regarding the formation of the committee.

14. EXECUTIVE SESSION
    MOTION to go into Executive Session at 8:11 p.m. by Comm. Gregorio/ Comm. Sarcia for a personnel issue, pursuant to Statutes Section 1-200(6)(A) and Section 1-225(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended. Unanimously approved.

    In attendance at Executive Session were Commissioners Gallitto, Russo-Driska, Roberts, Gregorio and Sarcia; Chief Badamo and Sharon Maloney.

    Executive Session was over at 8:56 p.m.

15. CALL BACK TO ORDER
    Vice -Chairman Russo-Driska called the meeting back to order at 8:58 p.m.

    MOTION to authorize Chairman Gallitto to discuss with Attorney Summa Article 19 Sections 19.1 and Sections 19.6 of the Union Contract for clarification and associated medical issues by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Roberts. Unanimously approved.

16. ADJOURNMENT
    MOTION to adjourn by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Roberts.

    Meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m.
    

Cheryl H. Creem
Recording Secretary