Council votes to take no action on restoring old volunteer length-of-service award; asks staff to explore legal options

Fire Chief Jerry Lemus asked the council to restore a length-of-service award that he said had been in place since 1971 to help retain experienced volunteers. Chief Lemus described the prior practice: eligibility after 20 years of service, payments beginning at age 60 and continuing for 10 years at roughly $125 per month. "We are only asking for a restoration of this program as it was instituted some time ago in 1971," he said.

City Attorney Julia told the council the municipal code did not previously include a permissive "length of service award" as described but rather referenced a fire department advisory board; she warned of a state constitutional ban on gifts of public funds and said payments for past service are likely impermissible unless tied to prospective consultant or advisory work and properly documented. Staff research on the state-administered program found the statewide administrator was not accepting new members and cited an approximate $50,000 startup cost if the city attempted to fund a similar prefunded program.

Council heard sustained public comment from retired volunteers and residents in favor of restoring some form of recognition. Several councilmembers expressed support for honoring volunteers but cautioned against adopting an illegal program; Council member Claire moved to vote no on the length-of-service award item on the agenda and the motion passed 3-1 (Davis opposed; Middleton absent). Council then agreed there is value in exploring options; the council directed staff and the mayor pro tem to assemble a short ad-hoc group (including fire staff and city attorney) to produce legally viable proposals for either recognition or limited, prospective compensation.