Members Present: Robin Pelletier, Carol Merrill, Mona McCready, William Barnett, Thomas Gilligan, Robin McAfee, Jennifer Morin, David Baker, Brian Duchesne, Tom Irzyk, and Ben Fontaine

Excused Absent: Henriette Girard and Gabby Daneault

Unexcused Absent: Gene Vallee

Others Present: David Jodoin, Sandy McKenney, Fire Chief Everett Chaput, Deputy Chief Rob Martin and Lieutenant Keith Lambert

Chief Chaput explained that he is currently employed as a full-time lieutenant for the Hudson Fire Department. This is a full-time department and is staffed 24/7. He asked Greenwood Fire Apparatus, who is the sales department for this area, which is where the Department purchased the new engine through, to bring up a rescue pumper for the Committee to look at. The reason he asked them to bring it up is because the Chief would like the Committee to see what a rescue/pumper is. He will be talking about the potential purchase of a rescue/pumper and explain what it would replace and how it would work.

The Committee then had a tour of the rescue/pumper.

Jennifer then called the meeting to order at 6:55 p.m.

Since this is the third meeting that Gene has not attended and has not notified Jennifer that he would not attend, she will write a letter to Gene regarding this.

Ben made a motion to accept the minutes of the October 16, 2003 meeting, Tom I. seconded.

Mona mentioned that on the motion to accept the corrected September 18 minutes, the motion was seconded by Robin. Also, the last page stated that Gabby made a motion to recess, it was actually Brian who made the motion and David Baker seconded.

Also, David Baker was in attendance at the meeting, he had arrived late and it was not stated on the tape that he was there.

The motion passed unanimously.

The Committee then reviewed the Fire Department Budget.

Jennifer stated that Chief Chaput put together a book for the Committee that breaks everything down for each line item, i.e. Maintenance on the Trucks lists exactly what the maintenance was on each truck. Chief Chaput stated that it lists what he is exactly budgeting for next year.

Chief Chaput asked is the Committee wanted him to review his requested budget or the Selectmen’s approved budget. Jennifer stated that if he is comfortable with the Selectmen’s revised number, then that is where he could start.

Chief Salary – The 2003 budget was at $5,410, The Chief requested $6,000 but the Selectmen reduced it back to $5,410. Chief Chaput stated that he does not want to add anything to this line, he just wants everyone to think about this for the future. The Chief feels that in some point in time, the Town will have to have someone in this position, full-time or part-time. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the Department and it is difficult for someone doing the job part time to get everything done. He is not here for the money, but we did have a very hard time to attract candidates for this position. He is not looking to add money to this line for himself, however, if the Committee wanted to begin to add money to this line yearly to bring it up to certain amount, it would be up to you.

Jennifer asked how long the salary has been at $5,410? Chief Chaput stated that it has been at the amount for 2 years.

Mona asked is the Department had been requested to keep the salary at $5,410? Chief Chaput stated he volunteered to put it at $5,410 without being asked. He stated again that he is not here for the money. He works as a full-time firefighter. He took the job because they needed someone to lead the Department. He is not planning to be here to 5 –10 years. He is really strapped for time as it is.

Tom I. asked what the average salary is in other Towns? Chief Chaput stated that he has not really looked into this, but what really caught his attention was that the part-time dog catcher is being paid $12,300 but the fire chief only $5,410. A department head vs an employee. Ben stated that the chief is not only paid as chief but is also paid for the calls he goes on.

Robin M. asked if the Chief had an average number of hours that he puts in. Chief Chaput stated that it varies, but a minimum of about 5 hours per week, usually just to do bills and paperwork. During the budget process, if you include the hours that he works on the budget at home, and at work on the budget, it was significantly more hours. Former Chief Dionne had worked about 7 hours a week.

Jennifer asked if this was just administrative hours? Yes, Chief Chaput stated that administrative hours are meetings, selectmen’s meetings, contact meetings are included in the salary.

Part-Time Salaries – last year this line was $46,000, the Chief requested $72,500 and it was cut to $47,015. Part of the cuts included the $8,500 that is in the line below part-time salaries. We were also looking to move training, which is at the bottom on the sheet. We pay payroll for training out of training. So when the guys are here doing training that is where the money comes from. He was trying to make it easier for him to track and David J. to track, they created a line called Training. Actually, we moved the training line into part-time salaries. The other money that was in that line was $14,600 which was for stipend pay. This is to pay two people to be at the station from 6 pm to 6 am. We are having a problem with calls right now, it is hard to get people to come in for every call.

The reality is that if someone calls the fire department for help, people expect them to show up. He cannot guarantee that they will be able to show up. No call department can guarantee this.

Chief Chaput used the White Rabbit as an example. Here is a fire that occurred next door to the fire station in an alarmed building, and it took 8 minutes for the first truck to get there. Why, because there had been so many false alarms, so at 1:17 in the morning when the call comes in, people are asleep and need to work the next day. Who wants to get up and reset the pager then go back to sleep. We need someone here to do that. If someone had been on duty that night on a stipend, someone would have responded within three or four minutes. Would the outcome have been different? The Chief could not guarantee that, but it may have been.

Getting there earlier may have made a big difference, the fire could have been knocked down easier and we may have been able to save the owner. Although the owner could have been dead before the department was able to arrive. But he may have had a better chance.

Mona asked what the average is on people responding? Chief Chaput did not have this information, but can get this information for a future meeting. On some calls there could be as many as 10 or 12 people there, but once a fire is confirmed, everyone comes. The average call at 2 in the morning for something that is not as exciting, 3 or 4 people come sometimes 2. There was a wire call one night, just down the street from the Chief’s home, and no one showed up.

You need to look at each emergency for what it is. It may not be an actual emergency, but to the person who calls it is. We are at a point right now where we cannot guarantee service, holidays and weekends are a big issue. Lets take Christmas as an example, how many people would want to leave their families to check a downed wire. Plus many people are out of town and some people work.

There are many factors to look at. So, we are looking for $14,600 being added to this line, to cover a stipend from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. This amount works hand in hand with another full time person. If we don’t add someone full time and the guys are not working 7 days a week, that does change, but the $14,600 would actually give coverage for this 12 hour period.

Mona asked if they had someone in mind for this position? The Chief stated that each member of the department would take a turn. The stipend would pay the person $25 each. They would not have to stay at the station if they lived relatively close, but they have to come for every call no matter what it is or what time it is. Mona asked if this would be one person or would they rotate. The Chief stated it would be two people every night and the members of the Department would be put on a schedule.

Tom I. stated that for each night there would be a $50 stipend, $25 for each person and they would also be paid on a per call basis.

Jennifer stated that a few years ago a chief presented something similar and she thought there was possible issues with having people and not paying them by the hour, or some kind of liability.

David J. stated that there was an issue about minimum wage. Chief Chaput stated that a stipend is different. A person is being paid to be available. The Chief stated that the $14,600 is actually $20 per night to two people so it is only $10 per person to be available for the night. So you take $20 for the two people times 365 days equals $14,600.

If someone wants to be on call four nights, they could make $40 extra dollars per week plus calls. A stipend is basically stating that a fire fighter will be paid to be available but that they will still be paid their hourly wage for any work they perform.

Tom I. stated that when he is on call, he gets paid a stipend of $100 per week to be on call 24 hours per day, so it is just an added amount of money that someone gets. Then he gets paid his hourly wage for each call he gets that he has to go out on.

Tom G. asked if the Chief will institute a policy is someone is on a stipend for a night and he does not respond, will they be forbidden to do it again. Yes, there will be a policy written. It would be something like, it someone is on call and does not respond, they will not be paid for they night, if it happens again, they will receive a written warning, then a suspension, then termination. This follows along with policies that are currently in force today in other areas.

A couple of years ago, there was a trailer fire in Bear Brook, it is a long trip from the station to Bear Brook. The Department answered a fire call one night and the people were yelling at Rob and the Chief asking were the trucks were and why it was taking so long. Two people were actually arrested that night.

Some people have made the comment to let the fire burn because they have insurance. Not once has someone said that they did not need the department, the insurance would take care of it. But when someone calls, they want you there yesterday.

Ben stated that if you pay someone and they don’t show up, would they be an advantage to the Department if they don’t show up just because it is the wrong hour? No, it would not. Ben stated that it would not make sense to add dollars onto dollars because someone does not want to show up because they want to stay in bed. The Chief stated that he can only bring forth suggestions that he sees that is trying to make things work. With a stipend pay, and having assigned people at a salary rate and have a way of punishment if they don’t show up, would help. Right now there is no tool to use if one of the members is living on School Street and I go by his house and he is there and does not feel like getting up to go on a call. But if he is on the payroll and he does not show up, then we can do something to try to correct the problem.

Robin P. asked if the Committee takes the $8,500 and the $14,600 and add it to the $47,150 it does not come up to the $72,000. Chief Chaput stated that there was additional money in training. He directed the members to look in the red book, which explained there was $46,000 for salaries, training was at $11,450, night coverage was at $14,600, and these three items totaled $72,050. The $11,450 was cut to $8,500 and placed in the line below. Chief Chaput stated that the selectmen took the $46,000 and added 2.5% to this amount.

David B. asked Chief Chaput if he had an example of a department that used the stipend and it is working successfully. Yes, Hopkinton and Henniker both have a stipend plan in place. They have full-time people and use a rotating call force to cover their calls. He did not know their cost, but can research it. Hopkinton and Henniker use this system because they also have an ambulance service with the Department. Chief Chaput stated that he thought that Tri-Town was using the stipend system at one time.

Tom I. asked if the Chief had thought of taking some of the current funds and running this program on a trial basis to see how this would work. The Chief stated that he had not thought of this, but he felt it was a good idea. He did not know how much was in the current budget. The Fire Department budget has $54,748 remaining. Based on purchase orders that are outstanding and minus out the payroll for full time people, estimated overtime cost, etc, we expect to have approximately $17,000. Out of this amount, $4,000 must be encumbered to help defray the cost of the Main Street project for the fire alarm system that is going in. This will leave $12,000 for unknown expenses. With the problems that the Department has been having with maintenance, he was not sure if this money would be spent until December.

The biggest problem time is summer. It is not only that people do not come in, but people are gone for summer vacation. If the Board were so inclined to provide money for a trial period, the Department could go with a lesser figure and try it out in the summer of 2004 to see how this program would work and then revisit it for the 2005 budget.

Tom I. stated that his thought was to try to plan something next year, so that during the next budget process, yes, we tried it and this is how it worked. Chief Chaput stated that although there is money left in salaries, it is really a guessing game. Some years the Department has been well below, like this year, but that money will have to be used to cover other lines.

Jennifer asked Tom I. if he was asking to have a trial period in the proposed budget, Tom I. stated yes.

The Chief stated that if they say no to the $14,600, the increased that has been approved by the Board at this point is approximately $16,000. In this figure is some really needed items, some are set items, like heat, electricity, water, full time salaries, overtime. The Department is really working on a deficit budget. The Chief compared the 1990 Town budget and it has increased during this 13-year period by approximately $65,000 or 41%. This is really not significant, because when the unforeseen increases that the Department had no control over, i.e. payroll, telephone, sewer, heat, etc., the increase was $85,000.

Jennifer asked if they only had the stipend during the summer, what would the cost be? It would be about $3,650 for ¼ of the year. The $14,600 works in conjunction with trying to hire two additional full time people. The hours change and the coverage time change if this is not addressed.

If two additional people are hired, they would work four days on and four days off. This would average out being paid for 42 hours a week instead of 45. So if we do not hire two additional full-time people, we would have to cover from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. The cost would then be $3,970, this would cover four months of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and 24 hours on weekends of stipend coverage. This would cover 9 shifts per week.

16 weeks x 9 shifts = 144 shifts x $20 per shift = $2,880.

Tom G. asked to clarify the part-time salary line. Of the $72,050 there is $14,600 for stipends, 2.5% merit increase on the original $46,000 from last year, and then $8,500 for training. Chief Chaput stated that it also originally had $11,450, this amount was reduced to $8,500 and moved to In-house training.

The $8,500 is for members for training. Tom G. stated he was trying to take the $72,050 and come up with the current Selectmen revised line. If we took out the $11,450 would this give us the correct amount? Chief Chaput stated that he had not asked for the 2.5% increase, the Selectmen added this amount, this 2.5% increase adds up to $1,150.

Tom G. stated that if you take the original $46,000 plus the $14,600 for stipends add in the 2.5% on just the $46,000 ($47,150) this would give a total of $61,750 for part-time salaries.

In-House Training - $8,500 if you add this amount to the $4,000 at the bottom on the page the total is $12,500. There is no change to this number from last year. This is $2,950 less than requested and $11,450 is the average amount spent in 2002 – 2003 for training.

Tom I. asked why it was broken up into two lines. Chief Chaput stated it would be easier to track the expenses this way. It was hard to know what was being spent on payroll and what was being spent on training aids, i.e. videos. Payroll should be for payroll, and training should be for training aids, etc. The bottom training line also pays for classes.

Jennifer asked if in-house training was salaries paid for training. Yes.

Robin P. asked if she took $8,500 and the $4,000 which equals $12,500, are you only asking for $10,000? No, what was originally requested was $10,049 plus $11,450 which equals $21,499. This was broken in half where the $10,049 in down here in Training.

Robin P. asked about the Public Education line. Chief Chaput stated that Public Education for 2004 has miscellaneous items for $500, International Building Code Book for $85, Fire Protection Handbook for $170, Life Safety Code Book for $160; Fire Protection Week Books for $300; Subscription Service for $850; Model Tech Hazard House for $4,375; and Key Secure for $2,400. Key Secure is a box that holds keys to the buildings. They are boxes that are secured to the vehicles and cannot be unlocked without knowing the codes to punch in. The big items were cut such as the $4,375 and the $2,400.

Tom I. stated that the key secure was proposed last year. Deputy Chief Martin is working on a proposal through FEMA for Fire Prevention, to get funds for these items.

Robin P. asked if there was anything in this line that was absolutely necessary. The Chief stated that they are working on a grant for the Model Tech Hazard House and he feels very comfortable doing that. Other than that, the only other thing that was cut was the Key Secure. The Key Secure is not a safety issue it is a financial issue.

Personal Protection Equipment – The line helps with a couple of different items. It goes along with full-time salaries. These are monies that will need to be added to this line and Uniforms if two additional full-time members would be added. The Department would have to purchase gear and uniforms for them. This line item is $3,285, if the Committee agrees to add two additional people, then this line would have to be revisited to add $3,285 to it, and $1,450 for uniforms would also need to be added to the budget.

There was originally $18,273 which included 35 forestry helmets which were moved to Forestry; goggles, gloves, turnout gear, structural fire gloves, hoods, helmets, boots, etc. The biggest amount was for turnout gear, there were 8 sets of gear for $1,239.66 each for a total of $9,917.28. This was removed at the request of the Board of Selectmen and they asked the Department to place this on a warrant article. This sets a bad precedence. If people are in a bad mod, then the Department goes without gear and it is a safety issue. Chief Chaput would like to see this amount returned to the budget, but the worse case scenario he would like to have the warrant article approved by the Budget Committee.

Tom G. asked the Chief to explain about the 8 sets of gear, are they replacing gear that is there and old and unfit? It is 8 complete sets of gear, currently there are no spear gear. There is some very good gear, but some of the gear is 6 to 10 years old. Essentially a set of gear should not be used more than 5 years. After 5 years, it starts to lose its effectiveness. The 8 sets of gear would go to the officers because the reflective strip would have orange stripes on it. The officers’ current gear would be given to other firefighters and the really old gear would be disposed of or sent to the Explorer Post.

Uniforms are highlighted because it associates with the full-time people. Most department give people stipends for uniforms, Allenstown does not do that, they just purchase what is needed. This line covers the full time people as well as the entire call force. These are just station uniforms, shirt and pants, boots, etc. The Department is required to provide their workers with steel-toed boots. These boots wear out. The $1,450 is significantly lower than what the Chief requested, but there are more important areas to fight for.

Jennifer asked how the boots are purchased. The Chief stated that with this amount of money the decision may be made to purchase boots only and no shirts and pants, or money may have to come from another line, which is pretty much what this budget has done before. Jennifer stated that this did not have a line before. Chief Chaput stated that this was included in the Personal Protective Equipment. The two lines equal $5,020 so there is a $20 overall increase on that line. The Chief stated that if you go back to the 1989 budget, this line was $12,000 so the Department is significant behind where it was then.

Robin P. asked why the Selectmen cut the Personal Protective Equipment line. Sandy stated that the Selectmen wanted the turnout gear to be a warrant article. Because the Chief stated that they were getting the eight officers uniforms so that they were the right colors, and hand down the others, the Board did not feel it was a necessity at this point.

Sandy also stated that there are funds in the budget for two new people, which the Board did not approve. You would need to add the $3,285 back in, plus the $9,917 and $3,760 which equals approximately $17,000 and moved $1,400 to Forestry for the helmets.

The decision on the eight sets of gear for the officers was made strictly because it was a house maintenance issue. In the Chief’s opinion it is a safety issue, because we need to start replacing gear.

Equipment Testing – Last year this was zeroed out, maybe by the Fire Chief. This line encompasses testing of fire extinguishers. There was no place that designated for the refilling of extinguishers and that type of equipment, and it was a guess as to where to charge these funds. The Chief created an account in the amount of $350 which includes refilling the CO₂ , testing the CO₂ extinguishers, refilling and testing of dry chemical extinguishers and testing of ATW (water extinguishers). There are requirements that they need to be testing every three to five years depending on which type it is. Obviously, whenever an extinguisher is used, it needs to be refilled. The Department can refill water extinguishers, but there are extinguishers that the Department cannot refill, they must be done at a facility.

Computer and Software – The Department requested $3,920 and this was reduced to $1,500 to keep it at this year’s level. The Department is trying to upgrade its system, which included a new tower, an in house e-mail system using Microsoft. Since everyone is not always here, we are trying to set up an in house system in order to communicate.

Full-Time Salaries – One of the biggest problems in the gap in coverage at 6 a.m. Many people cannot respond early in the morning because they are getting ready to go to there jobs. More of an issue is weekends and holidays. On July 4 there was no one around.

The increase of $25,225 for the full-time salary does reflect the bottom step ½ year for 2 people, because they start on July 1. Next year the increase will be a little more than that because next year you will be paying the other half plus whatever percentage step they moved up to. There is definitely a cost associated with this, but it is well worth it. It is easy to sit here during a non-emergency and this it is no big deal, but when you are the one who needs help and no can comes, it makes all the difference in the world.

Other Towns around us have already taken this step. Epsom started out just like we did with two full time people, now they have four and have coverage seven days a week. Bow had one person for a long time, went to two but this year want to increase the coverage to four people. You are paying to have people available. There are not a lot of jobs in Town. If someone is running a business, they need their employees to be available. Major emergencies are not the problem, but this is still the travel time from home or wherever they may be. This gives you people here to respond and handle the emergency.

Jennifer asked if this was to be approved would they be at a firefighter level, yes. Chief Chaput stated he is looking to hire two firefighter/EMPI, these are intermediates (they can start IV and push certain drugs). There would be the Deputy Chief and one firefighter on one shift and a Lieutenant and a firefighter on the other shift.

The Lieutenant or officer would run the shift and they would do their daily work and respond to calls. If someone were to leave and someone else were hired, they may be hired as an officer position depending on their skills or years of service. The two new positions would be firefighter positions starting at bottom step.

Jennifer asked if the Department would be putting this in a warrant article if the Budget Committee does not include it in the budget? Yes. Chief Chaput stated he would like to see this in the budget, if that does not happen, the next step will be a warrant article.

Robin P. asked the Selectmen if the decision to not place this in the budget was that they felt that the Town did not need the additional coverage or just monitory. Sandy stated that it was monitory. Ben stated that there are still more salary lines to look at, when you add them all up, there is a big increase from past years. Ben stated that he realized that the Chief got someone else’s budget, but the increase the lines as much as he proposed in one jump we just can’t afford it. Ben stated that he would be the first person in Town to jump for public safety and the Chief has not convinced him yet because he knows what the Town can and can’t afford.

Chief Chaput stated he was very pleased with what the Board of Selectmen did with the budget and they know my position. Although he disagrees with the way they did it, he respects their decision. It is an increase, and as a taxpayer in Allenstown, he does pay his fair share. But the need is there and it needs to be addressed.

Robin P. asked how the mutual aid was working. The Chief stated that mutual aid is mutual aid. It does not solve our problems, it is there when conditions arise that are beyond our control or more than we can handle. Mutual aid is not here to handle our calls. Pembroke is also having problems responding. Hooksett does not pay their people to respond and take care of our calls when we are not available.

Many times you do not know what you will encounter until you reach the scene. Mutual aid is not automatic. They will not respond every time you have a call. Mutual aid is there when you do not have the resources available.

When you respond to a fire on Deerfield Road, the trucks can travel 62 miles per hour on Route 28, but once on Deerfield Road, 30 is probably you top speed.

Chief Chaput stated that he can only give the Committee his professional opinion which is that something needs to be done. If the Committee has any alternative suggestions, he is willing to listen, if the Committee would like him to come up with some alternatives, he would certainly try. It is imperative that the Department begins the process of trying to have people covering during the day. He feels that the nighttime stipend will work in conjunction with full time people. There are people in Town who think that the Fire Department is staffed 24 hours per day.

Mona asked if the Chief would be willing to consider having just one person instead of two? Chief Chaput stated that it could be fine, but it would not add any additional coverage in the first year. What would happen is that this person would end up working with the two current full time people until we were able to hire the fourth person. You really need two.

But he would certainly entertain this suggestion. We could put one person on this year and next year readdress the issue, it is a start. It is a step in the right direction. It is not where he would like to be right now, but Rome was not built in a day.

Tom G. asked if the two people were approved, would this eliminate the immediate need for the stipends during the nighttime coverage. Chief Chaput stated if you look at a traditional department that cover 24 hours per day, you do 10’s and 14’s, i.e. working from 8 to 6 then off then back the next day from 8 to six, then be off until the next day from 6 to 8 the next morning, then back in at 6 p.m. the next day get out 8 a.m. then be off four days then back to work after that. Or you can do 24’s which can be 24 hours on 72 off, 24 on 72 off or day on, day off, day on, five off. This all works with four shifts. The problem with four people is trying to get some type of system that will work with only one person on duty. This could work in conjunction with stipends, but the problem that we may run into is that two stipend people working together would be fine, but with one person on duty who is being paid to be here, the stipend person may be upset that the other person is being paid for the full night where he is not.

Tom G. asked if he had two additional full-time people in the normal rotation, would that work to get nighttime coverage. The Chief stated that all this does is cover the days. You would really need eight full time people if you wanted to cover 24 hours per day. You would need two people per shift and it takes four shifts to cover an eight-day cycle.

Tom G. asked how many people were working full-time now. Chief Chaput stated there are two guys working 45 hours per week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The two additional people would allow coverage Sunday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. then have the stipend coverage at night to cover the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Then having coverage guaranteed 24/7.

Holiday – this goes along with full time salaries. If the Department were to add two people, holidays would be effected, because someone would be working on holidays. Firefighters would be paid for holidays, working or not. The amount of $4,506 represents holiday pay starting on July 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004 this does not include New Year’s. It covers 12 hours of pay for each holiday, 4 people for 48 hours per holiday times their rate of pay. This does not become an issue in this budget unless the additional full-time positions are added in. This is also an item that would be on a warrant article should we choose to go that route.

Overtime and Coverage – The overtime line was zeroed out. These two lines have been combined. On previous budgets, it was confusing you had overtime, which was money they were paid and then there was coverage which was money that someone else was paid to work for them. It was easier to combine these two lines. This line has been increased to $12,730 due to the fact that we are constantly going over on overtime. We are currently spent approximately $8,000 on this year’s budget.

We were budgeted for $4,500 but have spent $8,199 in overtime. Coverage was budgeted at $4,500 but we have spent $2,438. So the total for the two lines is $9,000 and to date we have spent $10,500 so we are $1,500 over on these two lines combined. The Selectmen have agreed to $11,000, which was an increase in $2,000, which is less than the Chief wanted.

Robin P. asked if the increase in overtime was due to additional calls or the same people responding. Both, each year the overtime budget is overspent. Chief Chaput stated that payroll in the fire service is a guessing game. We could have every call during the day when the full-timers are working and they are not coming in for overtime or the calls are all after hours. In the fire service, they do not get overtime until they have worked over 53 hours. The first 8 hours are at straight time.

Robin P. asked where were the major increase in calls now. Chief Chaput stated that the department is up in calls, but 48% to 50% of all calls are medical and after that car fires, building fires, etc. There has been a steady increase in calls over the years. When we first hired our full-time people, we were averaging about 425 calls and now we are averaging about 700 and going up. As the community grows, the calls increase.

Robin P. asked if it was a law that the fire department responds to all calls. No, it is just the way we do things. There are only two departments in the compact that do not respond to medical calls, one is Pembroke and the other is Boscawen.

Tools and Minor Equipment – this is another line that had been zeroes out by the previous chief. Since there was no place to put tools and minor equipment, this includes axes, chains for the chains saws, etc. Preventive Maintenance on tools is $135, Chains for the chain saws are $200 per chain, Replacement pump was removed, Chain saw and concrete cutting saw, 24v rescue tools, service for all these tool and some dry chemical extinguishers, this all came to a total of $13,968. We removed $7,403 for a pump and got a grant and purchased a different pump. A compromise on this line, we would like to be able to replace some of the chains that need replacing, get the chain saw that is needed and get some maintenance done. This is something that has been zeroed out over the years, but as time goes by equipment needs to be fixed or replaced and there has been no place to take these funds from.

Hose and Fittings – The Department’s request was for $17,460 this included hose for the new truck, and included a lot of replacement hose. We removed $8,178 with no argument since the bidder on the new truck gave us a better price for the hoses. This amount was cut to $2,239 by the Selectmen, since the cuts were made some things have happened. The lengths of 5 inch hose cost $681.50 per length. Two lengths have failed testing last week, so we need to start replacing hose. Some of the lengths are 10 to 12 years old and they have dry rot, they are dragged, they wear and they must be replaced. The Chief would like to see some money put back into this line because the Department is at the point right now where we do not have good quality spare hose. Spare hose is a necessity.

The Chief’s request for this line is $7,239, I did agree with the Board of Selectmen for the amount of $5,239, but $3,000 was cut from additional money that was left in the truck capital reserve. They want the Department to use the $3,000 on hose for the new truck. But, if there is anything on the new truck that needs to be added or changed, there are no funds for this. The $3,000 was saved because we are not going to send anyone to the manufacturer to review the blueprints.

Brian asked Chief Chaput to explain what the five inch hose is used for. There is three sizes of hoses that are carried by the Department. The sizes are 1¾, 2½ and 5 inch. The 5 inch hose is the supply line. This is the line that when we go to a fire, the truck stops, hooks up to the hydrant and lays the line. This is the supply line that brings the water from the hydrant to the truck that is then put onto the fire.

The 1¾ hose are smaller hand lines that are used for the initial attack lines. The 2½ inch are used for bigger fires because you can get more water than the 1 ¾ line. The 2½ inch hose is also a backup hose. It takes more people to run a 2½ inch hose. The 5-inch is very expensive, they are $681.50 per length and the length is 100 feet.

Tom I. asked if there were any capital reserve funds set up for these types of issues. Chief Chaput stated yes and no, there is one fund for technical equipment (gear), there is a haz-mat fund, a cistern fund and a fund, which is a catch all called equipment. It was specifically set up as a truck fund, but it is written as equipment, so it can be used for anything. The problem is that we have to ask to spend the money, it is not an expendable account.

Tom I. asked how much was in this account. David J. stated that this is the fund that will pay for the new truck. There may be $15,000 to $20,000 after the truck is paid for.

The only separate account, that is an expendable account, is the reserve for technical equipment which is firefighter gear. This account was initially set up as an emergency fund. For example, if the Department is at a fire and five sets of gear get destroyed, so this capital reserve fund could be used to replace this gear.

Tom I. asked how much money was in this account. David J. stated that there is approximately $6,000 in this fund. Chief Chaput stated that this fund cannot be used for hose. Tom I. stated that he would consider hose protective gear if he was going to a fire. Chief Chaput stated that unfortunately that would not qualify.

Mona asked how much hose the Department was looking for. Chief Chaput stated that all depends on what the decision is on the $3,000. We could probably get 14 lengths of the 2½ which is $1,718, at least two lengths of the 5 inch which is another $1,200. This would spend the entire line. With the $5,000 the Department would be able to purchase a couple of nozzles which are $325 each, five are needed for the new truck for a total of $1,500, that would leave approximately $1,500 for the 1¾ and any other additional 5 inch hose that may be needed. That may be only three extra lengths. But as long as nothing else fails, the Department should be ok.

Brian asked when they planned to test the other hoses, in a couple of weeks. The Chief stated that this is a lengthy process.

Pump Certification – Certification that has to be done each year. The reason for the decrees is that the Chief anticipated four pumps versus three. The new truck is coming certified already. So there will not be an increase until next year.

Rental and Leases - $20,000 had been requested, because the Department was looking to purchase a used bucket truck for the fire alarm division. We have severed ties with the City of Concord regarding the monitoring of the fire alarm system. We are now on a $450 per hour fee if the Department needs them to come to do any work on the fire alarm system. The reason this was cut was that Don Peloquin feels that he might be able work with this.

Photographic supplies – this line was cut from $200 to $100, this was a voluntary cut on the part of the Department. This is here to purchase film for the investigation of arson fires. Yes, we do have digital cameras, but digital pictures are not admissible in court because they can be doctored. Regular photographs must be taken for evidence. Two hundred dollars is usually more than we need, $100 is for film and developing and anything else that is needed.

Fire Alarm Class – zeroed out the $1 request. Mona asked why it should not stay in. If you do not have the $1 in the line, it will be deleted. The Chief agreed to move the $1 back in.

Alarm Maintenance - $500 – this money is specifically used by the Department for our alarm system, that is the alarm and sprinkler system for their annual testing. So far $422.69 has been spent on this line.

SCBA Maintenance – last year this line was at $2,000, this was very much under funded. The Department requested $9,265 out of that amount $9,265 is needed. The Board of Selectmen cut this back to $5,000. The Department is looking to put in three cylinders at $980. There are three cylinders that will expire next year. Three have just been replaced and next year three more will be replaced. The Department does not have any control over the cylinders. The DOT sets the law on this, 15 years is the life cycle of a cylinder. When a cylinder reaches 15 years, even if it has never been used, it must be taken out of service. Next year the Department will have to replace 3, in 2005, we will have to replace 8.

We need to replace five face pieces which have all been addressed by the testing company as having dry rot and needing to be replaced. This is a life safety issue. The HUD Receiver which stands for Heads Up Display costs $150 each. The Heads Up Display is now a requirement by the NFDA. Any face piece that comes in must have a HUD on it, this is in addition to the cost of the $325 for the face piece.

Annual Flow Test - $2,150 – This test must be done on the SCBA, this line is under funded because we now have 23 units and we only budgeted for 21.

Hydrotest - $2,250 – this is a test that must be done to the cylinders every three years. We must test 10 or so this year. This is a fixed item.

Batteries for the PASS Alarms – Batteries much be replaced on a regular basis. These are 9V batteries, the PASS alarms are the Personal Alert Safety Systems that are on the SCBA. When a firefighter stops moving for a certain amount of time, this motion detector goes off, it is required on each SCBA. The batteries are replaced three to four times a year.

Service for the Compressor - Annual maintenance is $595, for a one time testing, oil change, filters, etc. Breathing air must conform to a certain standard, can have only so much moisture, it is basically very purified filtered air.

Air Quality Test must be performed four times per year, this is a DOT requirement.

Personal Search and Rescue Ropes – the Department had requested 21 for a total of $1,890. These are a rope bag that goes on the breathing apparatus, it is a safety tool. For example, if the firefighters would have had this during the Worcester fire, they may have been able to get out of the building. The Chief feels strongly that we should have this equipment. It is very easy to get lost in a burning building. This is not a required item, but he would fight for this item.

Jennifer asked if the $5,000 would allow the Department to purchase just the required items? Chief Chaput stated that it does not even do that. If you take out the $1,890 (which is not required) and the $595 which is technically not required, that is what is definitely required, and this line is a couple of thousand below that.

Jennifer asked the Selectmen to explain the decision. Ben stated that this year the Department spent $3,100. We are going from $3,100 to $9,000 that means that everything in the past is no good any more and we must start over. The Chief stated that they needed to replace three cylinders this year, three will be going out of service next year and eight going out of service the following year. So next year when the Department presents its budget, you will see eight cylinders being requested. There have five face pieces, which have been identified as having dry rot and needing to be replaced.

Jennifer asked if any face pieces had been replaced this year, not to the Chief’s knowledge. The Chief stated that they were not planning to replace the cylinders this year, but they had to be done in this year’s budget. So there are the cylinders, the face pieces and the annual flow tests have not been done yet. After everything is done this year, we will have spent close to $6,000 in that line even though there was only $3,100 budgeted.

Tom I. asked if it would be better to get the Rescue Ropes a little at a time. Chief Chaput stated that it could be done, but it would be more expensive to do it over three years than all at once. How do you decide who gets a bag and who does not?

Brian asked if they could use a capital reserve account for the bags. The Chief stated that the fund was for emergency use only to replace gear.

Jennifer asked Chief Chaput to repeat the last figure he had given - $6,780 removes the Personal Search and Rescue Bags at $1,890 and cuts the annual compressor service for $595. If you add the compressor service back in the total would be $7,375. The only thing about the compressor maintenance is that breathing compressors cost $10,000 to $15,000, they are very expensive to replace.

Rescue Tool Maintenance - $500 – this is for maintenance of the rescue tools. If something breaks down, this is where the money would be charged. We are holding off doing some things to make sure the Department does not go over budget for the year.

Fire Supplies - $1,000 – just miscellaneous items, fire alarm paint, or anything that may fall into this line.

EMS supplies – this line was at $2,000, next we are requesting $3,975, for sterile water, backboards, straps, etc. The Selectmen made an arbitrary cut of $1,975 just to bring the line back to $2,000; the Chief feels that $2,000 would be fine.

Rescue Supplies - $2,000 – this is just there right now. There is a purchase order ready for a little under $1,000 but we need to wait until we know the Department will make it through the budget.

Haz-Mat – this is a line that has been zeroed out for quite a while. The Department used to try to maintain a good supply of hazardous materials equipment. The Department requested $3,582 for this line. This amount was reduced to $983.

Tom I. asked what made up the $983. The Chief stated it was the decon shower, decon pools, decon manifold, and cones.

Tom G. asked about the shelf life of the decon material; Chief Chaput stated that these items have an endless shelf life.

Fire Signal Service – The Main Street project is the biggest contributor to the $8,600 that has been approved. The Department had requested $42,000, included in this amount was maintenance on everything to do with the fire alarm. A good amount of the Main Street Project will be reimbursed to the Department.

Box Painting and Replacement items - $450; Master Box - $350 (connection cost); This will save the Town money because currently they pay $150 a year monitoring fee for the box. Ground rods for boxes 84, 41, 36 and 38 at $300; cable replacement on River Road - $1,000; replacement Air compressor at $9,400 (which was removed); Digital Box Communicator - $18,000; and the Main Street Project Phase II. The $6,500 for Phase II is included in this budget, the $6,000 was removed (this amount was encumbered for next year from this year’s funds.

The $18,000 for the Digital Box Communicator – The City of Concord decided that they would institute a fee schedule for the Town’s businesses of $150 per master box as a monitoring fee. So they would make approximately $3,000 each year to monitor the boxes. The Department decided that if anyone would charge a fee, the Town would and this would offset the Department’s budget. Currently Capital Alarm in Manchester monitors our boxes via a telephone line. This does not add any time to the response. The Digital Box Communicator reads the boxes at the Department, transmits them to the monitoring company. The Department will be presenting a fee structure to the Board of Selectmen to adopt. It will be the same fee structure the City of Concord would have charged. The $18,000 would be paid for in six years and after that it would be a profit. The Board of Selectmen would like to see this as a warrant article.

The Replacement Air Compressor at $9,400 – this has been removed and will be placed on a warrant article. The compressor that the Department currently has in a 1960 vintage air compressor, we are currently having a problem finding parts for it.

Jennifer asked if the $8,600 would be sufficient, Chief Chaput stated yes. And asked for the Board’s support on the warrant articles.

Radio Purchase - $2,100 the Chief is looking to have some money added to this line. The Chief would like to see $5,300 returned to this line for the purchase of Digital Radios. This would be in addition to the $2,100. Ben stated that the Selectmen felt the $5,300 should be a warrant article.

The $2,100 would be to purchase some pagers that are really needed, also chargers.

Tom G. asked what type of pagers would be used. Chief Chaput stated the pagers are tone activated.

Radio Maintenance - $1,675 – The Department originally had put in the repair of the headset in Engine 4 and that was removed. The biggest addition was $675 was to replace the stations amplification system. There is also $1,000 for general repairs. Jennifer asked if $1,675 would be enough, Chief Chaput stated he could live with that amount.

Vehicle Repair Parts - $6,500 – same as last year.

Vehicle Repairs – The Department requested $19,680 for vehicle repairs. There are $9,680 of known repairs which includes, pump valve repairs on the engines, tires on Engine 2, Utility 1, and the Haz-Mat Trailer, rear springs on Engine 2, twenty vehicle inspections, front spring and a heater on Engine 1. So far, the Department has spent over $32,000 on vehicle repairs. The engine on Engine 4 needed to be replaced from surplus. The Department was spending $8,500 a year on vehicle repairs in 1990.

The trucks are 27 years old, 22 years old, 12 years old and the rescue is 17 years old. The tankers in forestry are even older. We may not have a single breakdown above the identified problems, or there could be a major breakdown of everything. Maintaining a very old fleet is expensive, the parts are expensive, the sending unit on Rescue 1’s fuel tank needs to be replaced, and the part is not available. We were lucky to find the parts for Engine 2 when it needed repairing.

Grounds Maintenance – There was $2,000 for a snow blower and $3,000 for a riding mower, which would be used to maintain the property. The $3,000 for a lawn mower was removed because the janitor will be doing the mowing for the Department. The snow blower, there may be one available for the Department to use. There is a lot of cleaning that needs to be done around the building. You can shovel, but there would be a lot of shoveling to be done.

Other things were added to beautify the property, there were trees ($700 – this was removed), loam and seed ($500), bench by the flag pole (this was removed).

Tom I. asked about Building Maintenance and Repair – Chief Chaput stated that they had put in $3,000 in architectural fees for the second floor. The Department is tight for space and the second floor needs to be worked on. The Department received a report from the State citing the problems with the building. Specifically no exit from the second floor, the heating system needed to be enclosed within the maintenance room, and a few other small issues.

So we wanted to get the second floor set up, and unlike the old building, we cannot jut throw up some walls. We need an architectural design to lay out the design. The $3,000 was cut. The other item that was cut was for pressure washing the exterior for $500.

Physicals/Shots – requested $2,000 and this was cut to $1,000. If we hire two new people, money needs to be added back into this line for their physicals. Full-time firefighters must have a physical every two years.

The only other increase is in Heat from $3,000 to $4,000 that is because with the increase cost of fuel, we needed to increase this line.

Jennifer asked the Board if they wanted to be consistent at all or if it was any different. When the Board reviewed the Police Budget, they did not put their added position as a warrant article but kept it in the budget.

Robin P. stated that she was not ready to vote on this yet. Jennifer stated that she was not ready to vote also.

Jennifer reviewed some of the lines just to have some of the changes.

Part-time salaries – one of the plans would be the pilot plan for $2,880.

Tom G. stated that the adjusted amount, without making this a pilot program is $61,750 this includes the 2.5% increase, making the stipends a full time deal and taking out $11,450 for Training.

Hose Fittings – $7,238

Tom I. asked if all the hoses needed to be replaced or if some could be repaired. Chief Chaput stated that some could be repaired. Anything can be repaired, but you don’t know how long the repair will last.

Fire Alarm Classes - $1.00

SCBA - $7,400

Vehicle Repairs – identified repairs of $9,680 with no extras.

Radio - $7,400

The Chief understands the reason for the warrant article for the $5,850. But he feels comfortable having a warrant article with the support of the Committee. He is concerned with having too many warrant articles for the Department. We can go with a non-digital radio at a cost of $800. Jennifer stated that they are not the same as the Town.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee is November 6. Chief Chaput stated that they still need to review the Forestry Budget.

Chief Chaput was asked if he could meet with the Committee again on November 6 to review the Forestry Budget. No problem.

The schedule will be 6:30 to 8:00 – Fire

8:00 - Sewer

Chief Chaput stated that if the Committee had any questions, he could be reached at 731-1209.

Tom I. made a motion to recess, David B. seconded.

The meeting recessed at 10:03 p.m.