The Chelsea Area Fire Authority board adopted a restated Articles of Incorporation that includes minor changes, such as the deletion of Waterloo, which was one of the original members of the authority that pulled out of the agreement after the authority was formed.
The restated document will now be sent to the member municipalities — the City of Chelsea, Lima, Lyndon and Sylvan townships — for public comment and a vote of the elected officials. All of them must approve the document for the changes to become official.
Fire Chief Rob Arbini reported that he’s spent quite a bit of time researching and preparing for collective bargaining negotiations and budget preparations.
Arbini plans to have a preliminary budget to board members before the next meeting on Oct. 15. He says he knows what the revenues will be and some of the costs, but there will be unknowns such as health care costs and employee wages until a new contract is ratified.
He did report that CAFA’s retirement fund with MERS (Michigan Employee Retirement System) is 96 percent funded.
One contract meeting has taken place according to Chairman Tom Osborne, who said both sides are looking at between 12-15 items in the contract. He said they range from wages and benefits to policies and wording in the contract.
The annual CAFA Open House at Fire Station No. 1 is planned for Sunday, Oct. 13 from 1-4 p.m. and everyone is invited.
