Board of Trustees March 11, 2021
West Blount Fire & EMS District
The Board of Trustees for West Blount Fire and Emergency Medical Services District met at Fire Station No. 1 on March 11, 2021, the meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Greg Reid, Chair, opening with prayer. Four Trustees were present plus JJ Ivey, Fire Chief, Melissa Thomas, Treasurer, and Diane Cox and Lisa Morgan, Billing Managers.
The minutes of the February 11, 2021 meeting were accepted on motion by Annette Cox, seconded by Marty Stover.
Financial report – The operating balance for February was $534,461.60. Total receipts were $86,521.32, including dues of $79,355.16. Total expenses were $71,331.07, including payroll of $14,488.08, equipment of $33,591.57, and maintenance and repair of $3,811.72. It was noted that Workers Comp has decreased from $12 to $5.99.
The Financial Report was accepted on motion by Annette Cox, seconded by Marty Stover.
Chief’s Report
Total calls for January were 138, including 6 out-of-area (1 – Mt. High/Ricetown; 2 Bangor; 1 Locust Fork; 1 Cullman County; and 1 Warrior): 58 medical, 4 structure fire, 10 auto accidents, 6 fire alarms, 2 vehicle fire, 44 public service, 5 wild fire, 2 fire other, 1 hazmat.
Other items reported include:
Still waiting on the monitors for the CPR units
Engine 71, the ladder truck, is still in the shop for repairs
The Chief’s report was accepted on motion by Marty Stover, seconded by Annette Cox.
Old Business
Billing Update – At the end of February three total CLA’s (conditional lien agreements) are on file, three were paid in full. The attorneys have a total of 211 accounts, one was paid in full, 207 have liens, four have a payment plan. We received a check from MSN (Massey, Stotser, & Nicholas) for $938 in February, making total collected from MSN since 2018 of $77,905.58. No new accounts were added in February. There were 28 exemptions approved, making a total of 39 so far for the year. Fire dues received in January was $79,215.16, plus $225 assessment fees, and $7,029.30 other, totaling $86,469.46 [income from February 2020 was $84,974.02]. Total collected for 2021 is $234,340.78. There are 2,150 accounts in the system with a balance totaling $555,012.86, which includes all outstanding dues from the beginning. There are 3,732 total accounts in the system. So far this year there has been 42% participation for payment of fire dues.
Scott Grant sent a request through JJ Ivey to be able to give us a quote on mailing out all of our fire dues bills. There were questions raised about how that would work with our computer billing system. More information is needed to see if Scott’s offer would be feasible for our situation.
Fire District Board of Trustees – March 11, 2021 page 2
Generators – Quotes for the 2 generators for Stations 1 and 2 were received, $10,000 each. Marty Stover moved, Annette Cox seconded, to accept the bids on the generators. Motion carried.
Budget – The proposed budget for 2021 totaling $475,000 was accepted on motion by Dolores Fort, seconded by Marty Stover
New Business
Hayden Day – The date has been set for Saturday, October 2.
At the last Town Council meeting, the idea of Food Truck Fridays was suggested, one a month. It was also suggested to have an event during the summer.
The topic of the fire department sponsoring an event during the summer was brought up, with the possibility of having the town and chamber join. This will be discussed at the next meeting. One suggestion was to have a fire fighter competition with surrounding departments.
JJ Ivey announced that he is thinking about stepping down as chief, not right now, but in the not too distant future. When he does, he would like to be a board member.
Announcements
The next meeting will be April 8, 2021, 7:00 PM at Fire Station 1.
The meeting was adjourned on motion by Annette at 7:30 PM.
Present Not Present
Annette Cox Billy Giddy (reaction to COVID shot)
Dolores Fort
Greg Reid
Marty Stover
JJ Ivey
Melissa Thomas
Diane Cox
Lisa Morgan
2 guests signed attendance
3 firefighters were present
Respectfully submitted,
Dolores Fort
Secretary
