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Council approves fee for nonemergency lift assists at care facilities; other routine measures approved
Summary
After a public hearing, the council approved Ordinance 25-10 to permit the city to charge a fee for nonemergency lift-assist responses at commercial residential care facilities. The meeting also included approval of a budgetary appropriation related to year-end comp/overtime payouts, a fire department line-item transfer, and 2026 meeting dates.
After a public hearing on Oct. 20, the Franklin City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 25-10, which authorizes the city to charge a fee for nonemergency (non‑urgent) lift-assist responses at residential care facilities that are commercial operators.
City Attorney Lynn Gray told the council the ordinance is intended to allow the city to collect a fee when the fire department is dispatched to perform a “lift assist” for commercial facilities that have staff on duty. Gray said the city will continue to assist residents when appropriate and that the fee is intended primarily for commercial entities that employ staff who are expected to provide basic assistance. The city attorney and chief said the fee could be waived in some circumstances.
A member of the public who spoke during the hearing urged the council not to use the fee to generate revenue but to pair it with education for care facilities. City staff and the chief said they have already met with at least one facility and would schedule visits to facilities if the ordinance passes; the public speaker noted multiple facilities with varying numbers of calls and highlighted one with 57 calls year‑to‑date as a driver of attention to the issue.
Council action and other votes at the meeting:
- Ordinance 25-10 (nonemergency lift-assist fee): Motion made and seconded; public hearing held; council approved the ordinance. City Attorney Lynn Gray and the fire chief discussed scope (commercial facilities) and implementation (education visits, waivable fee). Outcome: approved (vote recorded in meeting as “ayes,” no recorded opposition).
- Budgetary Ordinance 25-18 (additional appropriation to rainy day/FICA/PERF/overtime to pay out comp time and overtime banks): Public hearing opened and closed with no public comment; motion and seconded; council proceeded to act. Outcome: approved (motion and second recorded during meeting).
- Line‑item transfer for Fire Department ($27,000 moved into professional services to cover remainder of 2025): Fire Chief Josh Snyder requested moving $10,000 from the 200 series and $17,000 from the 400 series into the 300 series for a total of $27,000; council moved, seconded and approved the transfer. Outcome: approved.
- 2026 meeting dates and times: Council approved the proposed 2026 meeting schedule (two Wednesdays and one Tuesday per month, dates adjusted to avoid conflicts with other boards/commissions). Outcome: approved.
Why it matters: Ordinance 25-10 changes how the city recovers costs for nonemergency responses to commercial residential care facilities and gives staff discretion to waive fees depending on circumstances. The budgetary and administrative votes maintain operations and scheduling for the coming year.
