HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BFC-2017-06-27Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Special Meeting Minutes
June 27, 2017
Present:
Chair Gilligan
Vice Chair Sparks
Commissioners Hoard, Guttridge, Sallinger
Fire Chief Parsons
Information Management Specialist – Myers
Chief of Staff – Dan Cogan
Excused:
CC Liaison Gearhart
Members of the Public:
Ray Wheaton
Lyman Baker
David Cornelius
Gary Farwell
Call to Order:
Chair Gilligan called the meeting to order at 1604 hours. He and welcomed and
thanked Dan Cogan, Chief of Staff, and member of the Working Group regarding the
restructuring of city boards and committees for taking the time to attend today’s
meeting.
Proposed Dissolution of Board of Fire Commissioners - Discussion:
Chief of Staff Cogan reported that the proposal was on the agenda and discussed at
the June 21, 2017 City Administration Committee meeting. The goal of the work has
been to absorb the topics from twelve boards and committees into four new
commissions as follows:
Public Safety and Information
Community Life
Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation
Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources
Each commission will have nine (9) members, all of whom shall be voting members.
The chair will be appointed by the Mayor with Common Council approval, as will the
remaining 8 members.
There may be up to ten (10) “advisors”, in addition to the commissioners, voted on
by commission members, not Common Council, who shall be non-voting members of
the commission. The advisors might be subject matter experts or just interested
members of the public.
There will be administrative staff support for each commission who will assist with
agenda preparation and attend the meetings to take minutes. Other support staff will
include department heads/staff with expertise on the topics covered by the
commission.
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The current proposal allows two of the nine commissioners to be non-City residents.
There is a possibility that at the July 5, 2017 Common Council meeting the number
of non-city residents may increase; however, that remains to be seen. If the Board
of Fire Commissioners has any input on the proposal going forward at the July
Council meeting, please let Common Council members know prior to the meeti ng –
or plan to attend the meeting to speak during the public comment portion of the
meeting. It is possible that Common Council may not be ready to vote on the
proposal at the July meeting, in which case it will go to the August meeting. Any
later approval than August risks not meeting the timing deadlines for submitting the
local law for referendum at the general election in November.
The commission meetings will be open to the public, held in the evenings (likely start
time between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.), and follow similar meeting format in an effort
to provide consistency from one commission to another. They also want to make it
easier for public to understand how to participate in the commission meetings. The
commissions are advisory only to provide in-depth discussion and/or research to
pass information and/or recommendations onto Common Council, the Board of
Public Works, or other quasi-judicial boards to make the final decision.
Commissioner Guttridge arrived at the meeting at 1611 hours.
The referendum on the local law will be placed on the ballot for the public to vote on
at the November general election. If the referendum is approved, the plan is to
implement the four commissions on January 1, 2018. The commissioners will be
appointed after the election. There are two pieces of legislation for this proposed
change – the local law and an ordinance, both pieces have to be approved and have
the same implementation date in order for the new legislation to take effect.
The Local Law is needed due to changes that will be made to the City of Ithaca
Charter, and that is where the Board of Fire Commissioners information is contained.
In essence, the duties of Board, in some cases will be passed onto the Public Safety
and Information Commission, and in general the local law removes references to the
Board of Fire Commissioners and replaces it with Common Council. There are no
changes proposed for the allocation of the 2% monies, it will all be distributed as has
been done in the past and currently – nothing will change in that aspect. The City is
required to follow New York State law on its distribution. If changes were to be
proposed, they would need to be approved by Common Council and possibly New
York State.
Chair Gilligan asked whether any members of the public had any questions about
the proposal at this point.
Gary Farwell, Lieutenant and career Fire Fighter with the City of Ithaca, stated that
he is concerned about how the proposed changes relate to the 2% money, and
whether the volunteers will continue to receive the largest portion of the available 2%
funding annually. He stated that the only reason that so much of the 2% money is
allocated to the volunteers is because of the criteria contained in the City of Ithaca
Charter, which was written a number of years ago, when there were hundreds of
volunteers, providing fire service to the City. He further stated that Ithaca is the only
Fire Department in New York State whose career staff, until a few years ago, did not
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receive any of the 2% funding because of the Charter’s wording. A few years ago
this changed after a review of the charter and state law by the City Attorney’s Office,
it was determined that a portion of the 2% funds should be allocated between career
and volunteer members of the department based on their respective percentage of
the total number providing service to the department. The allocation is based on
New York State Law which states that the distribution of the money is to be pro-rated
based on the number of fire fighters who provide firefighting services. That would
primarily be the career firefighters, not volunteers in the department. Is it fair that five
(5) volunteers get more money than sixty-five (65) paid career fire fighters? New
York State law is very clear as to how the money should be distributed.
Chief of Staff Cogan responded that the changes being proposed do not include any
changes to the distribution of the 2% monies; although it could be revisited - perhaps
it should be in the future. That issue is contentious, and by design this proposal does
not deal with it. Common Council didn’t want the two issues linked in such a way
that the restructuring would potentially be influenced by it. The focus right now is on
the restructuring of the Board of Fire Commissioners and not on the 2% money.
That can be a topic for another day - if Common Council decides to take it up.
Mr. David Cornelius voiced his strong opposition for the proposed restructuring of the
Board of Fire Commission. He further voiced his very strong disapproval of the
current City of Ithaca administration.
Vice Chair Sparks asked whether the proposed changes would have any impact on
the contract with the Town of Ithaca, and would any modifications be needed.
Chief of Staff Cogan responded that he has had some conversations with the Town
of Ithaca Supervisor, Bill Goodman. As the current contract states, the City and
Town should be meeting by August 15th if either municipality is proposing changes to
the contract, which there probably will be as a result of the proposed restructuring of
the Board of Fire Commissioners. He has made efforts to stay in communication
and provide updates on the direction of the Working Group to the Town of Ithaca,
and has heard nothing back except they want to be kept apprised of the proposal.
Vice Chair Sparks asked whether there might be a requirement made by the Town to
have a Town of Ithaca representative on the Public Safety and Information
Commission.
Chief of Staff Cogan explained that possibility has not been built into the proposed
legislation at this point. When he spoke with Town Supervisor Goodman there
wasn’t a lot of concern that there should be – though the provision for two non-city
residents to be members of each commission would accommodate that, and the
working group was specifically thinking about the Town’s involvement in the fire
department. Otherwise, the Town of Ithaca has been silent on the proposed
recommendations.
Commissioner Guttridge asked what the membership of the new commissions would
look like.
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Chief of Staff Cogan explained that the proposal going before Common Council on
July 5th recommends that each commission have nine (9) voting members, with two
being non-city residents. That could possibly change at the July 5th meeting
because there was some discussion at the June 21, 2017 City Administration
Committee meeting to change it to three (3) non-city residents, but no motion was
made to put that change forward at the meeting.
Commissioner Guttridge wondered whether any changes had been proposed to the
structure below the commissions.
Chief of Staff Cogan responded that level below the commissions, would be up to
ten (10) “advisors”. The commission members would appoint the advisors annually.
There will be the need, at times, for proposed new policies, legislation, etc. that may
require research and discussion above and beyond that of the commissioners and
advisors. To meet that temporary need, “working groups” will be formed made up
primarily of advisors, with the balance being commissioners and private citizens or
“subject matter” experts, who will have separate meetings to work on the topic.
These working groups would meet informally (no agendas or minutes) on the topic to
do additional research and have more in-depth discussions with input from the public
in order to provide recommendations to the commission. Those recommendations
will then be forwarded to Common Council, the Board of Public Works, and/or one of
the quasi-judicial boards for further action.
Commissioner Guttridge confirmed, for the Board’s clarification, that as of January 1,
2018 all boards/committees, that are not quasi-judicial, will cease to exist.
Chief of Staff Cogan confirmed that statement. The members of the Working Group
are working on a “transition” plan from the current structure to the new structure.
They would hope that plan would include the assistance of current board members
to the appropriate commission in an effort to ensure some continuity. If no current
board members wanted to apply to become a commissioner, there would be the
opportunity for them to apply to become one of the advisors to the commission, if
they so desired and were interested; they could also provide input to the various
commissions as a member of the public when topics of particular interest to them are
on the agenda. He is interested in any feedback on that idea, and agreed that there
has to be some sort of transition plan in order to make sure any ongoing work of the
boards and committees is not lost.
Commissioner Guttridge asked whether the members of the Working Group received
any feedback that some current members of boards would be interested in
participating in the transition work. He noted that at the public forums he attended-
everyone who came wanted to become a commissioner or nothing.
Chief of Staff Cogan reported that he attended the June 14, 2017 Disability Advisory
Council meeting, some of the DAC members expressed a willingness to serve as a
commissioner. There was some discussion and ideas shared about loss of
specificity (found currently in the DAC) versus the broader inclusion of accessibilities
to be found under the Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission.
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Chair Gilligan asked whether the advisors to the commission wouldn’t be similar to
another committee, which was the purpose of the Working Group to consolidate the
number of boards and committees, and how that would work. He also wondered
whether the proposal was modeled after another municipality’s structure, and if so,
has that been successful.
Chief of Staff Cogan explained the goal has been to improve the flow of information
between the public, which should be easier and simpler by the creation of the four
commissions and associated advisors. The meetings will be less formal than
Common Council meetings to allow for an exchange of information between
commissioners/advisors and the public. He further explained that the chair of the
Working Group did some research was able to locate similar formats in other areas
that the City could tailor to meet its needs. As far as their successfulness, the
working group did not contact the municipalities to ask how successful they are.
Cogan pointed out that Ithaca is unique and that it’s hard to compare Ithaca to other
areas. There is of course no guarantee this will work. The Working Group did
conduct surveys, interviews, and forums for members of the current boards and
committees to either complete or attend to provide feedback. The Working Group
took that feedback and came up with the proposed structure which seemed to
address issues raised in the surveys and during the meetings/forums.
Chair Gilligan stated, as has been noted, that in the forums held by the Working
Group, members of committees being disbanded expressed the sentiment that they
were not in favor of the consolidation or proposed new structure. He referred to a
recent e-mail from a member of the Disability Advisory Council sent to members of
all the city boards and commissions, about her lack of support for the proposal and
the lack of dialogue between the Working Group and current board members. The
purpose of those meetings would have been to discuss the work they have been
doing being carried out in the future by the new commissions. He wondered if there
were any possibility of the proposed recommendations being implemented over a
two year time span, rather than in what seems like a “rush” to get everything
approved by and in place by January 1, 2018. He is interested in the new process
for members of the public to follow for applying to a certain commission or to become
an advisor. Whether current board members have been surveyed to gauge their
level of interest in serving in the future on one of the commissioners, will there
actually be public interest to fill the 36 vacant slots for commissioners and 40 vacant
slots for advisors, will there even be the opportunity for current members to serve in
the future. He is concerned about what will happen to the ongoing work of the
current boards and committees. What about the infrastructure that will be needed to
support this new commission structure? He explained that one of the reasons for
why this proposal came to light was lack of opportunities for the public to provide
input on different topics of interest to them. Will there be some sort of cross-
training/transitioning opportunities between the members of the new commissions
and current members. He wondered if the new database for application processing,
which will supposedly provide an easy to access online application and method for
choosing specific areas of interest, and determining which board they should reach
out to on particular topics, had been made available to the public would it have made
a difference in the functioning of the current boards and committees. Or, is it
possible that even with these new tools, there might still exist a need to consolidate
and restructure them.
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Chief of Staff Cogan explained that there have been discussions regarding the
problem with finding volunteers to serve on the committees, and the number of
appointments that have to be made to fill the vacancies. With the new structure
there will be fewer appointments to make (36), but it’s not just about that.
It’s the fact that there are not enough city resources to provide adequate staffing to
each and every board and committee. It has been shown that the boards and
committees that have that support seem to be more successful in their work. In
addition, with so many boards and committees within the city, and also with the town
and county, to which Common Council members serve as liaisons, it is very hard for
them to attend each and every meeting. If Council members aren’t able to attend the
assigned meetings regularly, it does cause a breakdown in the communication
between boards/committees and Common Council. The new proposal has two
Common Council liaisons to each commission, which should help to lessen that
burden on Council members, since Council members will have one commission
meeting per month to attend. Having two liaisons will strengthen the connection
between Common Council, commission members and the public. It also takes time
for staff to prepare agendas and minutes for all the boards and committees, in
relation to that the City has a limited pot of staff resources that can provide support
to the boards and committees, which will now be possible with only four
commissions. Allocating resources more broadly will hopefully enable the City and
staff to get more accomplished.
Mr. Gary Farwell wondered what will be different with the new structure as far as
finding volunteers to serve. It has been noted that due to the lack of applications
being submitted has resulted in many vacancies on the boards and committees,
which in turn has resulted in quorum issues. Why does the City think that the new
structure will improve those issues?
Mr. Lyman Baker expressed concern over who would be supporting/representing the
veteran volunteer firemen with the new commission structure. In 1919, Mayor
Stewart created the current volunteer system to support the city of Ithaca Fire
Department. That system worked for many years; however, over time with new
administrations and lack of support for the volunteers plus increased training
requirements have depleted the number of volunteers. However, that doesn’t mean
that the remaining veterans don’t need representation and advocacy on their behalf.
Mr. David Cornelius expressed the same concerns. Currently, the volunteers have
the Board of Fire Commissioners to provide support to them; without the Board, who
will stand up for the volunteers? The veterans are very concerned that the Public
Information and Safety Commission won’t be focused on the issues related to the fire
department because they will have too many other things to do.
Commissioner Guttridge wondered whether any thought had been put into the
question about what will be lost with the formation of the new commissions.
He has talked with some current members who feel with the new structure they will
have more of a role and impact than now. However, there are other
board/committee members such as the Disability Advisory Council, the Bicycle
Pedestrian Advisory Council, and the Shade Tree Advisory Committee that were
formed based on specific areas of focus to advocate at a deep level on for specific
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issues that disagree with that sentiment. These are important issues to the City that
the three specific committees noted above are meeting to discuss and propose
procedures and/or recommendations to the City; without those members or experts a
lot of that work will be lost. That may mean that more trees are cut down, people
may not be able to get where they need to go, or consideration is not given to
whether there should be bike lanes, or additional accessible parking. The current
process has grown organically through the years and it works on accomplishing
important needs of community. It seems like this current proposal is being rushed
through to become effective. He stated that if needed, staff time can be counted and
the work produced by each committee can be evaluated; which he doesn’t believe
has been done. If information could have been obtained about those quantitative
efforts for consideration by the Working Group, he wonders if the proposal would
have been different.
Chief of Staff Cogan responded, specifically relating to the issue of bicycle and
pedestrian issues, that there is currently a lot of active advocacy for these topics in
Tompkins County. For example, Bike/Walk Tompkins. Hypothetically, even if BPAC
were to go away and the Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation commission were
not created, he is not sure that there wouldn’t be the same support by other groups
in the community since it is an important topic to community members.
Cogan further noted that change is very hard for everyone, but depending upon
acceptance and participation, it may turn into something better. Everyone needs to
give the new structure a chance. It will be better in some matters where currently
there are committees that do not meet because members are not active or the chair
doesn’t call for meetings, and so in some places there is no one for the public to go
to on certain topics right now. An example of that would be the Rental Housing
Advisory Commission, which has not met in some time. He noted that he has also
heard some people say the City is just creating another layer to an already layered
process that the public will need to figure out how to use.
Mr. Gary Farwell asked the question of whether the Board of Fire Commissioners
exists for the fire department or for the volunteers.
Chair Gilligan responded that the Board of Fire Commissioners exists for the fire
department.
Commissioner Sallinger stated that the Board of Fire Commissioners will be meeting
at least six more times this year. What advice would the Chief of Staff give to them
to prioritize the work of the Board to assist the City in its transition plan?
Chief of Staff Cogan responded that was a very good question. What he would
suggest is that the Board make sure there is a handoff of the knowledge on the
current issues the Board is working on - such as strategic planning. He noted that
the Strategic Planning for the fire department will continue and current board
members could continue to serve if they’re interested. If there are issues on the work
plan for 2018, then they should be compiled or explained (written would be great). If
board members could plan to attend the first meeting of the Public Safety and
Information commission that would also be helpful. Perhaps current members might
become commissioners, or at least attend the first few meetings, to chime in when
Board of Fire Commissioners Special Meeting Minutes June 27, 2017
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appropriate on discussions. The hand-off should be done in a way that new
commission members can take it and be well informed.
Chief Parsons stated that when there are certain hot topics of concern in the
community or the fire department, the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting allows
an opportunity for community members to talk with commissioners with no time limit.
Right now, at Common Council and Standing Committee meetings, the public is
limited to three minutes for addressing the members on a particular topic. There is
also no real response back or any give and take that is available at the Board of Fire
Commissioners meetings. He feels this provides a lot of opportunity for input from
community members whenever they want to attend meeting related to a specific
topic or current issues.
Chief of Staff Cogan explained that the members of the Working Group wanted to
allow the time for that give and take during the commission meetings as a way to
increase public participation. It is also a benefit that could be abused by certain
community members who regularly attend meetings, so they’re not sure how those
situations might be handled. In an ideal world, people come to meetings because
they’re interested in a topic and want to ask a question and get a response. The
Working Group hopes that opportunity will work for everyone - unless it is abused by
certain individuals. Right now, some boards may not exist to the public because
they don’t know there is a particular board. Having a consistent structure that the
public knows about, that can be promoted on the city’s website, where information
can be available for the public to see who the commissioners are, will be a huge
improvement in the current structure.
Discussion followed on the floor with examples being shared of certain topics the
public might have questions on or need information about and what commission
might meet that need or how they would find the proper resource to assist them.
Chief of Staff Cogan noted that the commissions being created will not oversee the
operations of the city departments and staff.
Mr. Raymond Wheaton asked what would happen to the regular and mundane items
that the Board handles such as resolutions to sell equipment or award bids, who will
be taking care of those types of items.
Chief of Staff Cogan explained that a lot of those types of items will most likely be
handled administratively by the Fire Chief. If they require a specific resolution, then
most likely they would be handled by either the Board of Public Works or Common
Council.
Mr. Raymond Wheaton stated that the Public Safety and Information Commission
may not be made up of anyone from the fire service or with fire service experience
and know how, and he understands that, what about the advisory boards - how does
membership on the advisory boards work.
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Chief of Staff Cogan explained that the role of the advisors is to advise the
commission. Commissioners will, hopefully, be made up of diverse individuals that
won’t all have an interest in the same thing. It is hoped that at least some of the
commissioners and advisors will have a particular interest in the fire department.
Mr. Raymond Wheaton asked whether the meetings of advisors would be held at
City Hall or off site. What if no one wants to be a fire department advisor or
commissioner?
Chief of Staff Cogan explained that would be up to the individual advisors; but there
are no agendas or minutes required for that level meeting. It will be up to the public
to attend meetings or apply to become an advisor or commissioner if they feel
particular topics are not being represented adequately. He also explained that the
City made the decision not to make changes to the Community Police Board, that it
would be wise to keep it as is given the current political climate, with police abuses
being documented across the country. He noted that the Community Police Board
has investigative authority.
Mr. Lyman Baker asked where/who would a sick and disabled veteran volunteer go
to plead their case if they needed money from the account set up for such purpose.
Previously, the Board of Fire Commissioners would handle that. Would they have to
plead their case publicly somewhere?
Chief of Staff Cogan responded that presumably a request such as that would go to
Common Council for approval; and be handled during an executive session that was
not open to the public.
Vice Chair Sparks asked about the public information piece of the new commission
that is advisory in nature. He thinks of public information as being outward to the
community, so he is curious as to how that piece will be worked into the Public
Safety and Information Commission.
Chief of Staff Cogan responded that public information is closely related to public
safety issues, such as natural disasters and crimes. He noted that both the fire
department and the police department have public information officers, so linking
them together under the one commission made sense. The concerns of the
commission may relate with how well information is communicated to the public. For
example, does the website need to be redesigned or are there new apps and
technology that the City should be using to assist the public. The commission might
do research and provide recommendations to Common Council to pursue a certain
upgrade to its technology or develop new policies on how the City does things. Right
now, the City is discussing the purchase of a “mass notification” system that would
be able to alert the public through text, email, phone about emergencies, natural
disasters, snow emergencies, etc. The three main users of the system would be the
police and fire departments, and the public information officer from the City Clerk’s
office.
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Mr. Raymond Wheaton noted that the Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s Association has
possession of the 1898 Ithaca Fire Department steamer; it’s on display at their
building on Elmira Road. The Board of Fire Commissioners is the guardian of the
steamer. Will that guardianship transfer to the Fire Chief or Common Council as far
as what happens to it in the future.
Chief of Staff Cogan responded that for now, it would fall under the Fire Chief and
the fire department. Although, there is nothing to stop another group, who has a
particular interest in maintaining the steamer, (i.e. “Friends of the Ithaca Fire
Department”) as far as fund raising and maintaining it in the future from being
involved in the future.
Mr. Raymond Wheaton explained that except for the 2% money, the Veterans have
no relation to the City; the steamer is the only thing not owned by the Vets even
though they’ve put a lot of money into it as far as storage, etc. He is concerned
about its care and guardianship in the future.
Commissioner Guttridge followed up on that statement, to explain that the Board of
Fire Commissioners, several times a year, approves a resolution to allow for the use
of the steamer in various local parades (i.e. Ithaca Festival).
Chief Parsons stated that the steamer is owned and insured by the City of Ithaca,
and there is a memorandum of understanding for it to be stored at the Veteran’s
facility. He noted that the memorandum of understanding may need to be
renegotiated so that instead of it being between the Veterans and the Ithaca Fire
Department, it will be with the Board of Public Works. He further explained that
related to Mr. Wheaton’s comments and perspective, the Board of Fire
Commissioners grants authority over property of the city of Ithaca fire department.
As he has been reviewing the proposed changes, most of that language is being
deleted and the authority will revert back to Common Council or to the Mayor; most
likely new administrative procedures will be set up to take care of those matters.
Chief of Staff Cogan thanked the Board for inviting him to their meeting to discuss
the proposed changes. He encouraged and invited everyone to attend the July 5,
2017 Common Council to provide additional input on the recommendations.
Commissioner Sallinger asked whether it would be better for the Board to prepare a
resolution or a memorandum to Common Council and the Mayor concerning any
recommendations or concerns they may want to see carried forward to the new
commission.
Chief of Staff Cogan stated that resolutions always carry more weight; however, the
problem with a resolution is that it’s hard to explain yourself in a resolution as
opposed to a memorandum. He would suggest that the Board approve a resolution
with a memorandum attached to it that will explain the back ground of the resolution
in more depth. He encouraged the Board to make sure their concerns are well
communicated to Common Council and the Mayor (i.e. the suggested two-year
transition period), and then provide an explanation of how that would work. He noted
that it would be untenable to provide staffing to both the existing boards and the four
new commissions at the same time.
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Commissioner Guttridge asked why there is such an urgency to have this new
proposal approved this year.
Chief of Staff Cogan responded he wasn’t sure what difference it would make if the
City were to wait a year to have the proposal approved. The Working Group has
been working and meeting regularly on this proposal for over a year, since his first
day as Chief of Staff for the City of Ithaca.
Vice Chair Sparks stated that two months does seem to be a short time period to
launch the new model after the possible approval of the recommendations in
November.
Chief of Staff Cogan agreed that two months was a short time frame in which to
implement such a big change. He explained that as the public is informed about the
referendum, at the same time information will be provided to the public on how to
apply to become a commissioner.
Chair Gilligan inquired as to whether the proposed new application database will be
available after the November election, and the other online tools and information for
the public to access to make application to become a commissioner during the two
month transition period. It seems to him that some of these new tools could have
been put into place for the public to find out information about current boards and
committees and make application to serve on with the current structure. A resource
tool such as that might have really helped current boards and committees so that the
public could participate as actively as they so choose – it might have affected the
development of the proposed new structure, and maintained boards and committees
without any changes. He reported that this same topic came up in 2009 when the
City was reviewing all the City’s boards and committees. He also completed a similar
survey about the topic at that time. With the current review, after the boards and
committees completed the surveys, an opportunity was never provided to bring
existing board members to meet together and talk about problems and what
solutions current members would propose to resolve them.
Chief of Staff Cogan disagreed with that comment; he stated that Chair Gilligan and
Vice Chair Sparks both attended the forum that was held in the late fall. At that
forum the group divided up into small groups to discuss and come up with proposals
for what a new structure might look like. That information was then taken back to the
Working Group and it was used to move ahead with the work on the current
proposal.
Chair Gilligan stated that it would have been helpful if there had been an opportunity
for current board members to provide feedback on that recommendation from the
forum, from the Working Group, before the proposal was finalized and presented.
He expressed his opinion that had that been done, it might have provided a
recommendation that current board members could support.
The members of the Board of Fire Commissioners expressed their thanks and
appreciation to Chief of Staff Cogan for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet
with them to discuss this important issue with them.
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12
Adjournment:
On a motion the meeting adjourned at 1720 hours.
________________________________ _____________________________
Sarah L. Myers, William Gilligan,
Information Management Specialist Chair