Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/08/2019

Home

helpful to have one representative from Ramsey and one from Nowthen to help answer questions and communicate the message. Councilmember Heinrich thanked Fire Chief Kohner and City Administrator Ulrich for their continued efforts. Councilmember Kuzma stated that the main problem that he sees with the JPA is Ramsey not having enough manpower and therefore it would seem to make sense for Nowthen to hire its own staff for those services and the cities eventually coming down to typical mutual aid agreements. Fire Chief Kohner agreed that this was not a typical JPA and unlike most JPAs, it was setup in such a way to eventually allow for a clean separation since Nowthen owns their own equipment. He confirmed that Nowthen would need to hire additional staff and handle additional administrative duties for its department. Councilmember Riley asked if staff would still recommend separating the departments even if the funding were made fair and equal. Fire Chief Kohner commented that the decision to separate is up to the City Council. He commented that Ramsey would still not receive any services from Nowthen in return and explained that because of Ramsey's growth, it is appropriate for Ramsey's staff to focus their effort solely on Ramsey. City Administrator Ulrich stated that even if the financial issue were solved, the City would have to hire additional staff in order to service Nowthen. He commented that it would add so much cost that it would not seem to make sense for Nowthen and therefore there would not be an operational benefit. He explained that the prime benefit that was anticipated has not materialized as the Nowthen station is not providing service to Ramsey and there is no operational benefit received. Councilmember Riley asked how this JPA is different than JPA's used by other departments, using the example of Anoka-Champlin Fire. Fire Chief Kohner explained that under a typical JPA there is one budget that is then split between a cost allocation formula and all equipment is purchased jointly. He explained that the Ramsey/Nowthen JPA is different in that it is setup more like a contract where everything is separate. City Administrator Ulrich clarified that this JPA was setup with the intention of being able to split in the future, as the desire is today. Councilmember Menth asked for details on the pensions. Fire Chief Kohner explained that the pensions are in the names of the individuals and therefore would remain with the individual. He provided details on the process that would be followed. City Council Work Session/October 8,2019 Page 6 of 8