Fire Department Retention/Reward Program Discussion Leads to Possibility of Revisiting Dissolution Agreement

The Committee of the Whole discussed a request by the Tess Corners Fire Department to release monies held in their education and scholarship fund.  The fund was established as part of a dissolution agreement in 1999 and held $125,000.  The current balance is now at $180,000 because of the interest in the account that has built over the past 12 years.

"The department would like to use some of those funds to help pay for their employee reward and retention program," explained Alderman Keith Werner, who also sits on the Public Safety Committee (PSC).

The department is looking to reward employees for every five years' of service and would do so retroactively if the funds were made available.

However, Alderman Daniel Soltysiak, who also is on the PSC, pointed out that the current agreement with the department would have to be renegotiated to separate the educational fund from a reward and retention fund.  He also pointed out that once the department would be given those funds, it would not be the responsibility of the city to administer the funds.

"We have to remember that we are not talking about a department of the city, this is not a city program," Soltysiak said.  "This is a company that the city contracts with for service, and as such it's up to them to administer these funds as they wish."

Soltysiak also stressed that the need for renegotiations would come as a result of the request by Tess Corners  Fire Department to do access the funds, not as a 'city-driven' effort. A separate COW meeting will be held to discuss what the city would seek in the renegotiation of the agreement.