HARMONY FIRE DISTRICT
ANNUAL MEETING 6/2/2007
Present: Chief
Stuart Pearson; Moderator - Raymond Fogarty, Jr.;
Board Members - Louise Michaels, James
Richards,
Milton
Huston & George Kain
Treasurer
- Sandra Owens; Tax Collector - Kimberly Barber;
Clerk - Ann Dahlquist; Attorney - Fred
Mason, Jr.;
Auditor
- Geoff Malo
Absent: none
I. – Meeting Called to Order at 10:00 am by
Moderator Fogarty.
II. – Moderator Opening Remarks –
At this
time Moderator Fogarty thanked Alyce Mack, Leon Gagnon and Mary Gagnon for
overseeing the voting polls for this meeting.
We appreciate the donation of their time to the district.
Next he
would like to announce the recent resignation of board member Steven
Sette. Steve has given many years of
service to the district, working on many different projects. We appreciate everything he has done. George Kain, whom everyone is familiar with,
has been selected by the board to fill his position for the remainder of his
term. We all look forward to working
with you George.
The
Moderator then asked each member at the head table to introduce themselves to
the audience. He individually
introduced Kim as the new Tax Collector/Secretary for the District. Then he gave special recognition to
Treasurer, Sandra Owens, for work she performed above and beyond her duties
while in the transition of employees during the past year.
III. – Reading of Warrant by Tax Collector Kimberly Barber.
III. – Election Results Announced –
Clerk Ann
Dahlquist read the results of the voting for this annual meeting.
All
candidates were running unopposed and the results were as follows:
Office Term Candidate Votes
Received
Moderator (1) year Raymond Fogarty, Jr. 20
Treasurer (1) year Sandra S. Owens 20
Clerk (1)
year Ann Dahlquist 20
Exec. Committee (4) years Louise
Michaels 20
IV. - Approval of the Minutes from June 3,
2006 Annual Meeting.
Moderator
Fogarty asked the board if everyone had a chance to review the minutes. If so,
he would like to call for a motion to accept them.
Milton
made a motion to accept the minutes for last year’s annual meeting held June 3,
2006. George seconded the motion. The motion carried.
V. – Chief’s Report –
In
addition to the Annual Chief’s Report that Chief Pearson provided, he had these
comments to make.
He went
over the run statistics listed in his report.
Noting that there were approximately 100 more runs in the last year,
than in the past.
He thanked
all of the officers of the Harmony Fire Department for all of the time and
effort they put in to make our department the professional organization that it
is. He also thanked the Harmony Fire
District Board for the support they continue to give to all of the members of
the department.
He then
asked if there were any questions and there were none presented.
Jim made a
motion to accept the Chief’s Report.
Milton seconded it.
The motion
carried.
VI. – Treasurer’s Report –
Sandy then
presented her report. Beginning balance
July 1, 2006 was $299,753.10, ending balance April 30, 2007 was
$159,696.42. Books are only reconciled
through April since the May bank statements have not yet been received.
She next
explained the reports she had to present.
The first page shows the April balance and a schedule of bank
accounts. The next page shows a review
of the proposed budget, expenditures through May 31st, and last
year’s budget amounts. The third page
shows the capital improvement fund.
Jim made a
motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report.
Louise seconded it.
The motion
carried.
VII. – Tax Collector’s Report –
Kim then
presented her report. At this time
there is still a total balance due of $29,463.17 in uncollected taxes. Notices were sent to all past due tax payers
in April and response has been slow. A
list is being prepared to forward to Commonwealth Land and Title to enable them
to being their Tax Sale proceedings.
New tax
bills will be sent out in June, according to the new billing schedule, with
payment to be due in July.
Louise
made a motion to accept the Tax Collector’s report. George seconded it.
The motion
carried.
VIII. – Old Business –
None
presented for discussion.
IX. – Budget for Fiscal Year 2007/2008 –
Administration:
Proposed $77,274.00
Milton
made a motion to open this category up for discussion. The motion was seconded by George. There
were no questions for this category, so a vote was taken. The motion carried.
Personnel:
Proposed $271,239.00
Jim made a
motion to open this category up for discussion. The motion was seconded by George. The
Chief explained that there is a proposed increase of $.50 per/hour to the rate
paid to daytime EMS per/diem employees. Ray further explained that this raise
would be covered by third party revenue collections, as their pay is now. There were no more questions on this
category, so a vote was taken. The
motion carried.
Fire Protection/Equipment/Operations.: Proposed $55,000.00
Milton
made a motion to open this category up for discussion. The motion was seconded by George. There
were no questions for this category, so a vote was taken. The motion carried.
Emergency Maintenance: Proposed $29,100.00
Milton
made a motion to open this category up for discussion. The motion was seconded by Louise. There
were no questions for this category, so a vote was taken. The motion carried.
Building & Grounds: Proposed $34,500.00
Milton
made a motion to open this category up for discussion. The motion was seconded by Louise. There
were no questions for this category, so a vote was taken. The motion carried.
Other:
Proposed $12,200.00
Milton
made a motion to open this category up for discussion. The motion was seconded by Jim. There
were no questions for this category, so a vote was taken. The motion carried.
Milton made
a motion to accept the budget for fiscal year 2007/2008 in the amount of $479,313.00. George seconded the motion. The motion carried.
X. – Capital Improvement Fund for Fiscal Year 2007/2008 –
Next
Moderator Fogarty opened discussion for the proposed items for the capital
improvement fund in the amount of $29,900.00.
Chief Pearson proceeded to explain these line items.
Strategic Plan: Proposed $2,500.00
We will
bring an outside consultant in to prepare a document to guide the district/department
in its future development. This
$2,500.00 would be payment for the consultant.
IT Support Items: Proposed $6,500.00
This
amount would be used to purchase the software and licensing for Opal Data Tax
Software. This software is the same one
that the Town of Glocester’s Tax Department also uses. Having this consistency will enable smooth
transfers of tax roll information between the town and the fire district. It will eliminate manual entries and
calculations of exemptions and the human error associated with this. The software has many more reporting and
taxpayer history capabilities that we have never had. It would be a tremendous improvement over what we use now.
Ceiling Tiles/Installation: Proposed $3,900.00
These
funds would be used to repair and replace the ceiling in the apparatus bay where the roof has leaked and
ruined it.
Kitchen Remodel: Proposed $15,000.00
This
kitchen remodel plan in an ongoing project that was proposed by the Association
as a joint effort with the District. They
had proposed a 50/50 split for the expense.
Along with this plan would be a needed fire compliance upgrade of a hood
and duct system with a fire suppression system. Therefore the money allocated at this time would be for the
compliance portion, whether it be where the stove currently sits or in another
remodeled area.
Personnel – HR Manual: Proposed $2,000.00
The human
resources manual is a necessary compliance item that needs to be created for
the district. There is no document of
this type in place at this time.
Milton made
a motion to accept the amount requested for capital improvements
for 2007/2008
in the amount of $29,900.00. George
seconded the motion. The motion
carried.
Louise
made a motion to set the tax rate for 2007/2008 at One Dollar and Twenty Cents
($1.20) per thousand dollars of evaluation.
George seconded the motion. The
motion carried.
XI. – Recognition/Awards –
At this
time Moderator Fogarty asked Sandy to come forward. In recognition of the many, many hours of work she performed while
the district was in between employees over this past year, the District Board
wishes to acknowledge her commitment with a small token of our
appreciation. Ray presented her with a wooden
mantle clock inscribed with the following words, “To Sandra Owens, Treasurer –
In appreciation of your hard work and dedication to the Harmony Fire District.”
The Chief
also had a letter of appreciation to honor of members of the department. It read as follows:
“In this fire department all members are
important. Additionally every task,
whether it be a catastrophic emergency or a routine cleaning detail, is
important to efficient operations. We
do not generally single out individuals, as our job is a team effort. Today though, I wish to commend the
following individuals for performing their duties exceptionally as a team.
This past year they were called to the scene of
a medical emergency. Without hesitation
these individuals overcame an extremely difficult, and medically challenging
situation with the utmost professionalism and skill. Due to their training as a team, they were able to work quickly,
hand-in-hand, seamlessly performing their duties. Because of their care and dedication, the patient is alive
today. These individuals are Deputy
Chief Michael Segee, Captain Randy Brackett, Lieutenant Donna DeConte and
Privates Andy Noonan, George Nichols and Melissa Bertholic.”
XII. - Public Comment –
A
member of the audience asked if the dates and times for the election polls
could be listed on the tax bills as well as the annual meeting date. Kim said she could have this information
added to next year’s bills.
XIII. – Adjournment
Louise
made a motion to adjourn the meeting. George
seconded it.
The motion
carried.
The annual
meeting of the Harmony Fire District was adjourned at 10:28 am.