By Lori Carlson, Editor
The decision to go ahead with plans to hire a full-time fire chief caused some debate among Prior Lake City Council members during a budget workshop Monday.

The 2010 budget includes enough money to hire a full-time chief to oversee the city’s paid on-call volunteer fire department. City leaders originally budgeted for the position for 2009 but delayed the hiring by one year due to budget cuts. Salary and benefits for the fire chief position are estimated at $112,000, Finance Director Jerilyn Erickson said.

On Monday, Councilman Chad LeMair said he’s “struggling” with the decision to keep money in the 2010 budget for hiring the full-time chief.
“It’s not because I don’t support the fire department, but in a time in which we’ve maintained [spending levels] or cut in other areas, I just find it hard to believe there aren’t some other options,” LeMair said.

LeMair, however, appeared to be alone in his questioning of the timing. Other council members, including Mayor Jack Haugen, said they believe it would be a mistake to prolong the chief hiring any longer.

Haugen said the job’s demands have changed over the years, putting pressure on administrators in the department.

“We’ve seen evidence over the years of how the position has impacted chiefs in their personal lives and their marriages,” the mayor said. “To defer this hiring longer would be a tremendous mistake.”

Former Fire Chief Bruce Sames – who was found guilty of theft in 2008 after stealing more than $13,000 from a fire department miscellaneous fund in 2006 – was the most high-profile example of fire personnel who have claimed the pressures of the job affected their personal lives. In court documents, Sames explained that his actions were the result of financial problems stemming from a divorce and a gambling problem.

Fire Chief Doug Hartman attended the workshop and told council members the fire chief position is an extremely time-consuming job. Because firefighters are paid on-call, the chief has to juggle a full-time job elsewhere with his duties on the department.

“It’s a lot of work day in and day out, doing purchasing and paperwork, and we’re doing that during our jobs,” Hartman said. “I can easily put in 30 to 40 hours a week if I include fire calls.”

City Manager Frank Boyles said with two fire stations, a relatively new ladder truck and nearly 10 major pieces of equipment, the department needs someone who can oversee operations and maintenance. He also said Spring Lake and Credit River township officials have said they would like Prior Lake to have a full-time chief because they don’t feel they’re getting all of the benefits of their fire service contract with the city, such as fire prevention and follow-ups.

“I’ve worked with four different fire chiefs since I’ve been here, and all of them have been telling me they can just barely do the job,” Boyles said. “It’s time-consuming.”

Council members said the city has used a “return on investment” philosophy when making budgetary decisions.

“I’d rather take the heat from our taxpayers than not invest in the future,” Councilman Ken Hedberg said.

Boyles said he’s already narrowed a list of candidates for the job to 10 finalists out of nearly 50 applicants. He said he hopes to hire a full-time chief in early 2010, and he confirmed that current chief Hartman and other current members of the fire department are among the finalists.

The city is proposing a $12.12 million general fund budget for 2010, a $356,000 decrease in spending from 2009. But in preparing the coming year’s budget, the city faced a $1.022 million gap, resulting from a combination of revenue cuts and spending increases, said the finance director.

While most of the departments within the general fund will see a decrease in spending in 2010, there is increased spending in some areas. The city will pay $1,567 more for election-related expenses related to paying election judges. The fire department’s $80,000 increase is due to a combination of the estimated $112,000 budgeted for the fire chief position and fire aid revenue the city receives and turns over to the Fire Relief Association.

Other city funds also will see increases, but city leaders cautioned that those funds do not relate to the city’s property tax levy.

“When people say we increased the budget, they are looking at the total budget,” Erickson said.

While the council has control over all city budgets, Erickson said the general fund is the only one supported by property taxes.

The transit fund will increase by $295,000 due to capital projects such as the city’s contribution to the Eagle Creek Transit Station.

Water and sewer fund spending will go up $161,000, with about $100,000 of that increase due to the Met Council increasing its environmental services rate for sewer treatment.

The council will conduct a truth-in-taxation hearing on Dec. 7 and adopt the final budget and property tax levy on Dec. 21.

Lori Carlson can be reached at (952) 345-6378 or editor@plamerican.com.