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different way and being honest about what the issues may be in an objective way. She believed <br />it merits additional exploration. <br />Councilmember Tossey agreed that continued exploration is a good idea. He stated he thinks <br />there would be cost savings over time and the rewards would outweigh risks in the near future; <br />however, he was concerned should cities like Oak Grove, St. Francis, or East Bethel start to grow <br />and want independence from a joint fire service. <br />Fire Chief Kapler stated the Study Group talked about that scenario and the goal will be that this <br />is not a one -time opportunity, the "door will be open," so there needs to be some <br />methodology /process to get in. The Study Group agreed that should someone decide to leave, it <br />would be prudent to have that process already determined and made "painful" so it will persuade <br />people to get over differences and seek a solution. <br />Councilmember Strommen stated she can see advantages to look at a shared fire service now <br />before those communities are built out and create their own identity. She felt this opportunity <br />may be now more so than down the road. Councilmember Strommen commented on the <br />importance of finding efficiencies to provide services and while she felt shared fire services <br />holds some promise, there are definitely serious issues to address <br />Councilmember McGlone stated the object is to raise questions to bring back to the Study Group. <br />He felt this would be like creating a whole new government, maybe an uncontrollable entity, <br />noting the Council currently has direct control over the City's fire fighters. He asked which <br />entity would be responsible for liability should one fire fighter injure another fire fighter. He <br />also asked who would be responsible for human resource issues and if Ramsey will be required <br />to add personnel. Councilmember McGlone noted the ISO rating is a "hot topic" with fire <br />fighters but home insurance is cheap so he found that issue to be negligible. He also felt Ramsey <br />could realize savings on equipment, such as breathing apparatus, on its own and without creation <br />of a Fire District. <br />Fire Chief Kapler stated the Fire Department already realizes savings with purchasing <br />consortiums. <br />Councilmember McGlone stated he is concerned with creating a "new monster government" and <br />assuming liability. <br />Councilmember Elvig supported continued discussion because he felt shared services is where <br />Ramsey will go at some point. He stated his concern relates to areas of overlap and potential for <br />Ramsey being required to respond to more multi -alarm fires due to the overlap areas. <br />Councilmember Elvig stated he would not agree with pooling Ramsey Fire Department's hard <br />assets or cash. He indicated the agreement will need to address how a city can leave after -the- <br />fact but he would not want to put the city into a "tail spin" if the joint fire services was not <br />working for them. <br />Fire Chief Kapler stated there are not a lot of examples of dissolved Fire Districts so he thinks it <br />can work if put together correctly. <br />City Council Work Session / May 1, 2012 <br />Page 12 of 15 <br />