The five remaining Chelsea firefighters who were hired through a SAFER grant three years ago got some good news at the Chelsea Area Fire Authority Board meeting Tuesday morning: they will retain their jobs, at least through the end of the year.
Fire Chief Jim Payeur made the request of the CAFA board, providing a memo in which he stated he reviewed the authority’s financial information to reevaluate the situation, which “has created a tremendous amount of organizational stress,” and determined that “based on the current fund balance, (which is about $787,000), projections for future millage collections and with proper budgeting and management in place,” that the authority can afford to retain all the firefighter positions “beyond the life of the grant.”
His assessment of CAFA’s financial situation was evaluated by Pat Haniford, CAFA’s auditor.
Originally hired for three years, which was the life of the grant, the six firefighters were told earlier this year that based on financial projections, only three of the positions would continue to be filled after at the end of August.
Currently, five of the six firefighters hired with the grant money are still on staff and one was hired by another fire department. And, the board also voted to fill this open position at least until the end of this year.
“In addition to the financial aspect is the ISO review that was conducted in 2011,” the chief’s memo states. “The higher scores we received were due in part to our staffing level. That score put us in the top 10 percent of fire departments.”
Once another firefighter is hired, the authority will have a captain, lieutenant and two firefighters on each of the three shifts, and retain a minimum staffing of three people per shift if one is on vacation or out sick. This will save on overtime in these situations, the chief said.
Keeping the six firefighters will mean an additional about $62,000 in staff and related costs, which would be paid from the authority’s cash reserve account.
Payeur also was asked to provide the board with a cost estimate for full staffing of the department for 2014.
“I believe the decision to retain current staffing levels is the absolute best option to move the department forward and retain the overall stability and performance of the organization,” his memo states.
In addition, and after much discussion, the Sylvan, Lima and Lyndon Townships Boards and the Chelsea City Council will be sent draft copies of both the revised Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws for comment or approval. The board is expected to discuss both these documents at its July meeting.
The board also voted to move the site of its monthly meetings to Sylvan Township Hall to accommodate the large number of residents and firefighters who have begun regularly attending the 9 a.m. meetings and to revisit changing the time of the meeting from mornings to evenings.
