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Ramsey. She talked with him and stated that if he is not fully disabled, the benefit will not be fully paid. He answered that he was hiring all the work out and that he would keep her posted of his situation, which he did not. Boardmember Pearson inquired if it is the doctor who determines if someone is eligible for Worker's Compensation. Mrs. Helling replied it is the doctor and also the individual assigned to the Worker's Compensation case. Further the City has just been advised that Mr. Guimont's Worker's Compensation benefits have been discontinued by the carrier effective May 1, 1991. She added that Mr. Guimont had an opportunity to challenge the decision which he did not. She stated he received compensation until August 1, 1991 and the consequence of that is he has been overpaid. Boardmember Sharp asked if the money is reclaimed. Mrs. Helling stated she is not involved in that part of it and therefore couldn't answer that question. Mr. McKnight stated the Board should keep in mind that at the time of Mr. Guimont's accident, the fire fighters were under the impression that they would be compensated in a fashion to still be able to survive. Mr. Guimont has children, a house, etc. Mr. Guimont was in the dark about his financial support from the City. Due to his accident, the benefit plan is now going in the right direction and thanks to Chief Griffin and others, the fire fighters have better benefits now. If they didn't no one could afford to be a volunteer fire fighter and take that chance. Mrs. Helling stated that Worker's Compensation, based on a salaried fire fighter's income, would not have provided replacement income to several of the fire fighters while in Jay's case, his income was provided. Boardmember Sharp questioned why this issue is in front of the Fire Board for review. Mrs. Helling replied that City Council has asked this be reviewed by the Board to make a recommendation to City Council. Boardmember Kapler stated he read the case last night and he feels he is a little biased. He's not sure if going by what the insurance companies say is the right way to go. He stated the fire fighters were blind sided with the benefit package. He added that he feels he does not have enough information in front of him to be able to make a recommendation as to the right thing to do. He doesn't know for sure if Mr. Guimont is asking for payment until May, 1991 or a continuation of benefit payment. Mrs. Helling stated that as to what Mr. Guimont is asking, under any provisions of any policy, all money would have stopped as of May 1, 1991. Boardmember Sharp stated that regarding qualifying under the present program, he feels Mr. Guimont is not; however, he reiterated that the fire fighters were not aware of what was available. He stated that Mr. Guimont is asking for the new program to get dollars ahead. Personnel Coordinator McAloney commented that the reason for Mrs. Helling reviewing the Income Tax Return is so it didn't become public information. Councilmember Cich stated that Mrs. Helling was asked to review the returns as she is the most qualified person to do so. He stated it was unfortunate what happened to Mr. Guimont; however, it did "wake everybody up" with regard to benefits. Ms. McAloney stated that in fairness to everyone, the information regarding the benefits wasn't readily available. Fire Board/August 28, 1991 Page 3 of 5