WEST LIBERTY, Iowa–After 11 months of work and approximately 20 meetings, the West Liberty Mayor’s Fire Task Force has nearly completed their final draft of a 28E agreement between the City of West Liberty, the Rural Fire Trustees, and the West Liberty Volunteer Fire Department. Following a special meeting on June 6, the Task Force hopes to receive further input on their draft, along with their bylaws and lease agreements from a consultant, and to finalize a draft all parties can confidently ratify later this year.
Since their meeting on Feb. 13, the Task Force clarified and simplified sections of their 28E agreement, the bylaws, and the lease agreements that go with it. This work resulted in three substantial changes.
Rather than having a nine-member board of directors, the 28E organization would have seven. These would include two West Liberty City Council members, two Rural Fire Trustees, and three community members (one business owner, one appointed by the City, and one appointed by the Trustees). Unlike the previous draft, no West Liberty Volunteer Fire Department members would sit on the board. The fire chief, who would have the power to handle personnel decisions and day-to-day operations, would regularly report to the board and provide information to help them make sizable financial decisions. The Task Force compared this structure to a school board, where school principals make hiring decisions for teachers and staff members and make certain specific policies for their buildings, and then report to the school board for large expenditures and to get final approval on personnel changes.
The Task Force also removed the formula for determining how the City and Trustees would fund the agreement. Instead, they allowed the City and Trustees to choose how to divide costs and revisit their decision annually during budget time. Because no standard formulae for fire and emergency medical services (EMS) 28E agreements funding exists in Iowa, the Task Force considered it better for the parties providing funding to decide what worked best for them.
Graphic courtesy of the City of West Liberty.
Finally, the Task Force spelled out who would handle money once it came to the 28E agency. A clerk hired by the agency would serve as an administrative assistant, cutting checks under a certain amount and assisting with the annual budgeting process. One board member would serve as a volunteer treasurer, overseeing the organization’s finances, making deposits, reconciling the books, and cutting sizable checks. Another board member would volunteer as a treasury supervisor, advising the other two financial officers and following the board’s directives to open and close bank accounts and invest on the organization’s behalf. The Task Force settled on two volunteers to provide more oversight and avoid overburdening one person. However, they noted that if the positions become redundant, the board can draft a new bylaw consolidating them.
Though questions still existed on all sides about specific details, those at the meeting seemed willing to continue working on the 28E agreement and its related documents. The Task Force plans to send their work to a consultant specializing in fire and EMS agreements for review and further suggestions. Once they receive the report, which they expect within about 90 days, they plan to make final revisions and work with all the parties involved to create a final document to ratify and send to the state.
Once the 28E agreement process concludes, the board of directors elect will need to create a transition plan to show how the parties will move from their current system to working with the West Liberty Volunteer Fire Department as a 28E agency. The Task Force also recommended that the Trustees end their lawsuit against the City.
Overall, the parties felt confident that they could reach a final agreement. “We’ve proven that we can come together and work together,” said City Council and West Liberty Mayor’s Fire Taskforce Member Dana Dominguez.
