Commission asks for written billing exceptions, debates fatal-accident billing and savings account proposal

Members discussed several billing and finance items at the May 20 meeting and asked staff to produce written clarifications for the commission to review.

Member Dan Johnson raised the difficulty of creating a firm policy for billing in fatal incidents, noting the time of death complicates when a bill should or should not be issued. Member Steve Most suggested the commission bill initially and allow relatives to appeal later. The minutes record that members sought clearer written exceptions to the billing policy.

Chair Rich Ruemmele proposed revising Resolution 01-17 to capture those exceptions and asked Fire Chief Chad Johnson to prepare a redlined version for the next meeting. Chief Johnson clarified that the department does not bill for mutual aid and is not billed by other municipalities for mutual-aid responses; he also said vehicles that respond but are not used would not be billed. Members asked staff to put those mutual-aid and vehicle-response exceptions in writing.

City Treasurer Lansing provided a memo recommending a savings account to earn interest on reserved funds; Member Most moved to establish a savings account for escrow and capital-improvement funds and Member Keller seconded. The minutes record the motion and second but do not record a vote or final outcome for that motion.

The commission reviewed billing totals for 2026: $24,099.25 billed for incident runs, $4,928.00 received in payments, and $19,171.25 outstanding.