3.0. SR 03-10-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ity of iver FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: MEMORANDUM Mayor & City Council Lori Johnson, Finance Director March 10, 1997 Fire Department Compensation Proposal On October 19, 1993, the Fire Department Compensation Task Force held its first meeting. The Mayor and I are City representatives on the task force which is comprised of two representatives each from the fire department, Relief Association, and City. The charge of the Task Force was to discuss changing from a defined benefit to a defined contribution retirement plan and to review the total compensation (hourly pay and retirement benefits) paid to the firefighters. Since 1993, the task force has meet numerous times to try to reach an agreement on pay and retirement issues, unfortunately, without success. The most recent meeting of the Task Force was in September, 1995. The most recent Council meeting discussing this issue was a joint meeting between the City Council and the Fire Department on March 6, 1995. Again on April 3, 1995, the City Council briefly discussed firefighter compensation and passed a motion endorsing the Mayor's compensation proposal. In an effort to come to some conclusion on this issue, a joint meeting with the fire department is scheduled for April 3 at the fire station. To update and prepare the Council for the joint meeting, a work session has been scheduled for Monday. Most of the information will be presented verbally at the meeting. I have, however, included a comparison of the two most recent proposals which were presented by the Mayor and the Task Force. Please note that the fire department voted down the Task Force proposal 25-1 in March, 1995. A vote of the firefighters was never taken on the Mayor's proposal for various reasons which the firefighters can explain at the joint meeting. It should also be noted that the Task Force proposal included some areas of concern and discussion to both sides but, even though there were questions and there was not total agreement on some parts of the proposal, it should be presented to the Council and Firefighters. Finally, if you would like to review some of the past minutes of the Task Force, they are available at City Hall. At Monday's meeting both the Mayor and I can give you a brief history of the activities of the Task Force. This is a complex issue which is somewhat difficult to address in a condensed version so if you have questions or want additional background, please feel free to call me. 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425