SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Fire Board discussed the possibility of an Assistant Fire Chief and providing a stipend for officers at their June 21 meeting. Seeley Lake Fire Chief Bob Vanden Heuvel told the board he needs more time to determine what duties and responsibilities he would ask of an assistant chief and of his officers and what it is worth to the department and the individuals.
Vanden Heuvel said that the most important thing now is for those in charge to be able to cover the chief’s duties and assist with some of the projects. He thinks understanding of the Incident Command System would be a top priority for the assistant chief position.
“It is more of a way to get things accomplished, keep the chief healthy with a little time off and when the chief is not in that position, knowing that it will be covered by someone that can handle the responsibilities,” said Vanden Heuvel.
The department is unable to put officers on the payroll and retain them as volunteers. Once someone is paid, they must be paid for all hours worked, including overtime. A stipend is one way to financially compensate volunteers. According to IRS law, the stipend cannot be more than 20 percent of what a paid person in that same capacity would make.
“All of this goes to trying to get volunteers to stay in the department, stay focused and give them something to help them out a little bit,” said Vanden Heuvel. “[Request for payment] has never come from the volunteers.”
The department has only spent 78 percent of their budget for this year with one month left in the fiscal year that ends July 31. Adding a paid assistant chief position and stipends for the officers may require additional revenue to the department. One possibility for paying for this is to go to the voters and ask for an increase in the mill levy for the fire district.
Vanden Heuvel will research the hourly wage that is a legal stipend for the officers and start a job description for the assistant chief. He anticipates having a proposal for the officers by the next meeting.
The next meeting is July 19 at 6 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Fire Hall.
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