HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-11-07city council minutesSPECIAL MEETING
NOVEMBER 7, 2002
1:00 P.M.
The Meeting was called to order by Mayor Nancolas.
The Roll of the City Council was called with the following members present: Callsen, Blacker,
Hopper, Ozuna, and Wells. Absent: Dakan.
(CONSIDER APPROVING POSITION FOR CAPTAINS IN THE CALDWELL FIRE
DEPARTMENT)
The Mayor stated that this was the time duly noticed for a Special Meeting of the City Council of
the City of Caldwell. It was a one item agenda for the purpose of either affirming or not the
positions of Captains as provided in the workshops recently. Mayor Nancolas noted that as of July
1", it was appropriate for a Councilperson to attend a meeting by conference phone call so
Councilperson Ozuna was attending by phone from was out of town.
There was a presentation made last evening by Fire Chief Bruce Allcott, Monica Jones, and E1Jay
Waite on this consideration and also three workshops have been held. The reason for this Special
Meeting today was to make a decision on this proposed change within the Fire Department to
allow for four Captains to be created under the current structure. The Mayor asked if the Council
Members cared to comment at this time.
Councilman Hopper thanked Chief Allcott, E1Jay and Monica for spending the time to help
educate the Council on this matter and he did appreciate their efforts in getting them up to date.
This was an educational process for all of us and for Council to make a good decision, they
certainly needed to have as much knowledge as they could get. Councilman Hopper also stated
that he would like to apologize for the method they have gone through to get to this point. This
would certainly not have been under as much scrutiny if it had gone through the normal budget
process and Council was able to really judge this against other projects that were in the budget.
Unfortunately, we approved a budget that did not include these positions. He believed the
direction and where we want to go for staffing as the Chief has outlined was what we would like
to see happen. However, he would like to see some kind of an interim for a year or so to give
people time to train, but he was willing to agree to the more expensive proposal if the rest of
Council was in agreement.
Councilman Wells asked for clarification with regard to when this would start. Other members of
the Council stated that it would begin when the substation was opened which was sometime in
January.
Mayor Nancolas commented that the process this time was out of the ordinary. From an
administrative standpoint, this has been addressed and hopefully, we have learned something from
it. He also thanked all who worked on this and noted how many hours were spent in working it
out. A lot of thought and conversation has occurred and in order to make a good decision, you
need to have the proper information placed in front of you. The Mayor further stated that
consideration was not just for the Captain positions, but was also to approve the Inspector position
and was part of the discussion. He believed they were within their means to approve this as well.
Councilperson Ozuna noted that she believed the growth in Caldwell was somewhat behind this
situation. We don't know for sure if this was going to continue or what will happen in the future.
If it did slow down, the position could be eliminated. There was always that option for the
Council to address.
Councilman Callsen commented that if they ever had to start reducing manpower, it wouldn't be
just looking at the Fire Department — it would be City wide. It would be a balanced affect.
Councilman Blacker agreed with what Councilman Hopper stated and noted that he was new in
this process. In reality, you are no better than the people you hire and when it comes to the basic
services, we need to bring them up to line just as we have everything else.
It was then MOVED by Callsen, SECONDED by Blacker to accept the Fire Chiefs
recommendation for four more Captains and a Fire Inspector for two reasons: it was the right
thing to do and was the best thing to do.
Roll call vote. Those voting yes: Callsen, Hopper, Blacker, Ozuna, and Wells. Those voting no:
none. Absent and not voting: Dakan.
MOTION CARRIED
The Fire Chief thanked the Mayor and Council and stated his appreciation for the time and effort
spent on this matter..
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