09/01/2009 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 9/1/Z009 She announced that the library is now closed on Sundays. Residents needing library services on Sunday can use the Fairview Park branch from 1 to S p.m. 3) Matt Peters, 32869 Sorrento Lane, Avon Lake, a member of the North Olmsted fire fighters local. Recently ahalf--year report was supplied to Council by the Finance and Safety Directors. It contains some interesting numbers: runs are on pace to equal last year's record-setting high numbers. Even though we are just on pace for the equal amount of run numbers, our EMS transports are up. So, billable transports are up and you also can possibly equate that with the more serious nature of some of those runs. Each of the last four months has equaled or surpassed the transports of 2008's numbers. The fire loss for 2009 has already surpassed 2008's total by at least IO%, and we're only about half way through the fire season. Most fires occur in the cooler seasons of the year. If you look at some of those numbers, you still see the demand-the demand is there; the runs are there; the importance is there. The department has attempted to handle the runs as best and as professionally as they can, and they always will. They will try and work through whatever staffing levels are supplied. Regarding comments made at the August 18 Council meeting about regional dispatch and possible incorporating into regional fire-the union has never had a ,problem with making their thoughts known, and they have been present at many of the meetings-if they changed their opposition to moving to a central dispatch or had any problems with current dispatch, which they do not. We have excellent dispatch services here in the city. There was some mention in the minutes that maybe they regretted not going to central dispatch. He thinks that's in error. We have excellent dispatchers. He thinks changing over to central dispatch and regionalizing the dispatch adds a layer, which will only increase our response times. If that is part of the regional dispatch and regional fire service that is presented and ultimately obtained with the consultants, so be it. It may be part of gxowth and how we operate in the future. But moving towards that now, he doesn't think the union supports that at all. He just wanted to make note of that. 4) Jerome Barrett, 24125 LeBern Drive, commented about an article in the Plain Dealer this morning. The headline was, "The Ohio Public Pension Systems Consider Unpopular Changes." The article goes on to describe the large amount of money that the pension funds have lost because of the economic conditions. One example is the State Teachers Retirement System lost $24.1 billion. The pension funds are going to meet, and they listed five things they're looking at because the liability has to be funded, theoretically, for 30 years. The changes being considered are a possible increase to the minimum retirement age; increase the number of years used to calculate the final average salary from three to five; eliminate, reduce or delay annual cost of living adjustments; eliminate the lump sum death benefit; increase the employee and employer contributions to the system. He asked Mrs. Copfer if she had stated in January that there was talk of increasing the employer contribution from 19 to 24%. Mrs. Copfer answered yes for the police as fire is already at 24%. He questioned if these changes would have an impact on our city and other cities in the state. Regarding 2009-12, he believes there is a correlation there. Mrs. Copfer said she had not read the article. She will look into it, but it will be a direct impact to our budgets. 7