The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting Nov. 16 at the new FFPD administration building at 7030 Old Meridian Road. Directors Thomas Kerby, Ray Hawkins, Dan Kupferer, Mike Collins and Cory Galicia were present. Also present were Curtis Kauffman, a member of the FFPD Pension Board, Fire Chief Trent Harwig and attorney Joan Fritsche, legal counsel for the district.FFPD Pension Board meetingAfter a swearing in ceremony of one new firefighter, the regular board meeting was recessed to hold an annual pension board meeting. Minutes from the prior year pension board meeting were approved and the board moved to new business.Joan Fritsche presented the board with some statutory requirements, as well as the highlights of the original bylaws so the board could discuss the proposed amendments to the bylaws. She said the pension board consists of the district board members, and the treasurer of the district board automatically serves as the treasurer of the pension board.There are two additional seats on the pension board, one is held by Lt. Curtis Kauffman and there is one vacant seat. Those two seats are filled by election for staggered two-year terms. Fritsche informed the board that the statute is silent about appointments to the board; and, in the absence of elections, the district board can fill the pension board vacancy by appointment. The pension board filled the vacancy by appointing Ricky Wildman, a former FFPD volunteer firefighter, who served from 1981 to 1996.Harwig presented the pension board with the financial report for the volunteer pension fund for nine months ending Sept. 30. The beginning fund balance was $510,383. It has paid out $83,865 in benefits year to date. Harwig went through the remaining activity and line items in the fund. He informed the members that there is no requirement to prepare a pension budget, but the district still prepares it. The directors discussed and approved actuarial studies for three levels of benefits.The pension board moved to meet twice year and added a May meeting. They discussed and approved amendments to the bylaws.Treasurerís reportHarwig reported that 83% of the fiscal year was complete as of Oct. 31. The general fund had received 99% of budgeted revenues, and expenditures across the categories were at 73%. Vehicle fuel is at 119% of the budgeted amount year to date. The ambulance transport fund has received 101% of budgeted revenues due to collected transport fees that are higher than budgeted. Kupferer pointed out that the transport collections represent the past several months, and Harwig added that the collections include revenue from transports done as far back as 12 months. Harwig reported that the district surpassed last yearís total transports as of this week. Across all expenditure categories, the expenses are at 63%. The capital projects fund is at 77% revenue. Total expenses across all categories are at 55%. There is $288,000 left in the lease purchase, which represents the final draw to the general contractor, iiCON Construction.Staff/operations reportsDeputy Chief Jeff Petersma and EMS Division Chief Jon Webb were not present. Harwig reported that actual transports as well as transport collections were up. Reservists are getting ready to graduate from the Academy and there will be some standby hours. The department might need to hire a few reservists in the future.FAMLIFritsche provided a summary of the newly created FAMLI program. She stated that Proposition 118, approved by voters in 2020, created the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program in Colorado and it will go into effect Jan. 1, 2023. The state has created a Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance. All businesses in the state are required to participate; however, local governments were given options to participate, decline all participation or decline employer participation. Fritsche said the issue has been discussed during every meeting in the past several months. The meeting was open to public input. Directors listened to input from several employees. The board decided to completely opt out of the program.Executive sessionAfter approving a request to increase credit limit for the FFPD credit card, the board went into an executive session to receive legal counsel regarding litigation and negotiations.The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 21 at the FFPD administration building at 7030 Old Meridian Road.Correction from last month: In last monthís FFPD monthly report, we referred to the FAMLI (Colorado Family Medical Leave Insurance program) as the Family Medical Leave Act, which is not the same as the FAMLI. The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal program that allows employees to take extended unpaid leave for medical treatment or to care for sick family members, etc. without losing their job.Stay connected with the Falcon Fire Protection DistrictWebsite: http://www.falconfirepd.orgFacebook: Falcon Fire DepartmentTwitter: @FalconFireDeptNextDoor.com
