HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole Minutes 04.01.1997CITY
.MEMBERS PRESENT:
OTHERS PRESENT:
MINUTES
COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
APRIL 1, 1997 6:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CF3~4BERS
Chairman, Chuck Rodgers
Gary Temple
Gay Easton
Dirk Kroll
Norman Orr
Donna Kilpatrick
Bud Johnson
Miles Walton
William Staudinger
V. Joe Leckie
Rick Musson
Jim Flisrand
Jim Stevens
A/~dy Loebe
Cathy Gabrian
Mark Guy gave a presentation on the police officers retirement
system, PORS which is a 20 year retirement. The officers are
currently paying into PERS which is a 30 year retirement. The
majority of all departments are with PORS.
Mark stated the burn-out rate is high for police officers and most
new officers are looking for departments with the 20 year
retirement. Laurel has invested a lot of time and money into
training new officers, but many of them leave for other communities
so we are continually training officers. It was stated that only
one officer has retired from the Laurel department.
It was stated that Class II cities are mandated to belong to the
PORS system.
If the officers were in the PORS system, both the employee's and
the employer's contribution would increase. It was stated that the
city does not pay social security for police officers so they feel
that even though the retirement contribution would increase, the
overall contribution would be roughly the same as for any other
employee.
The council asked Mark to get the facts and figures and make a
presentation before the committee of the whole.
Jim Kraft, Disaster Emergency Coordinator for Yellowstone County,
gave a presentation with handouts regarding flooding in the
Yellowstone River Basin which includes Laurel. The mountains have
record amounts of snow pack so if we have long warm spells, we can
expect record flooding.
Jim stated that inspections have been done by the Army Corps of
Engineers throughout the county. The dikes by Riverside Park and
the water plant are of some concern. Jim stated there is a
program, "Advanced Measurers Program", which tries to identify
areas which would have the greatest impact if flooding occurred.
This program is only meant to be a "temporary fix", it will do
nothing towards a permanent solution. They are checking to see if
the water plant side qualifies under this program. If it does,
they will do the plans and hire the contractor who will do the
work, under the supervision of Public Works Director.
Discussion and it was stated that Laurel needs a disaster team who
would be the first contact in case of a disaster. This committee
should include representatives from the Fire, Police, and the
Public Works Department.
Jim also informed the council of the Yellowstone County sandbag
distribution policy. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that
sandbags are available to Yellowstone County and al. cities within
the county. The D.E.S. office maintains a supply at all times.
Sandbags are also sold to private citizens at the County's cost
plus 5 cents per bag.
Meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m.
Respectfully ~ubmitted,
/ -
Cathy Gabrian
Deputy City Clerk