Council considers Service award for fire departments
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By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The Mount Ayr City Council had a light agenda for its regularly scheduled city council meeting on Monday.
One item under consideration was the addition of a (LOSAP) Length of Service Award Program for the Mount Ayr Volunteer Fire Department personnel. Under the proposed program a 401k like plan would be installed for the benefit of volunteer firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) and reserve police personnel.
The program is a points system whereby eligible participants in the program earn points or credits for their time and service. These points are allowed to accumulate over time based on the number of hours they spend on duty or participating in training activities.
Once a certain threshold is reached volunteers become eligible to receive a reward or benefit. Each program is unique and can be designed to fit the specific requirements of the departments affected. Benefits can be fashioned such as a cash payment, contributions to a retirement savings account or other specified incentives.
This program is intended to add incentive for volunteers and program participants to remain committed to the department and to increase retention. Incentive programs are not new in municipalities but would represent a significant step forward for the local volunteers.
The council tabled the issue until the next regular council meeting to allow for further details to be presented. The Iowa Fire Fighters Association will be invited to make a more detailed presentation to council along with members of the local fire fighters leadership so a final determination can be voted on by council.
The council finalized and approved a promissory note document for Butter Brick Bakery in the amount of $15,000. This loan was funded out of a development account the city maintains with the intent to stimulate new business start-ups in Mount Ayr. The loan is a zero interest loan with repayment terms of $250 per month until 2031 or until total repayment is complete. The city retains control over over the note just like a traditional mortgage.
City Administrator Brent Wise updated the council on a number of upcoming issues later this year. Among them was a fee schedule for the city pool, a proposed revamp of the city little league fields as well as a salary schedule for the umpires and league organizers.
The council was also alerted to a monetary award the city received in the amount of $19,000 for an insurance rebate as a result of the safety results achieved by city employees over the course of the policy year. Wise also revealed the city’s share of a walnut tree removal project that has been ongoing over the past several weeks. The city received $17,402.25 as a result of the shared sales of walnut trees that have been harvested on city owned property. This return was significantly higher than was originally expected from the project.
The next regularly scheduled city council meeting is February 9.
