2015-07-15 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

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HAWAII COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION MINUTES OF JULY 15, 2015 AUPUNI CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM 101 PAUAHI STREET, HILO, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair De Luz called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: David De Luz, Jr., Chair Kimo Lee, Vice Chair Robert Becker, Commissioner Carol Ignacio, Commissioner Mapuana Waipa, Commissioner Absent: Carol Kitaoka, Commissioner (A quorum was present) Also Present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Melanio Lorenzo, Accountant Paul Lakin, Volunteer Commander Jennifer Ng, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Ignacio motioned to approve the agenda. Commissioner Waipa seconded, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None.) Chair De Luz introduced the commission's new attorney, Deputy Corporation Counsel Jennifer Ng, and newly appointed Commissioner Robert Becker from Council District 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 18, 2015 Commissioner Waipa motioned to approve the minutes of March 18, 2015. Commissioner Ignacio seconded, and it carried unanimously. FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Rosario highlighted items from his written report: BUDGET STATUS: Accountant Lorenzo reported that the 2014-15 budget was put in a critical situation due to the lava flow, other natural disasters, and unbudgeted payroll increases. Funds from the Federal Government were not realized because the lava did not cross the highway, and they had to take critical steps to off -set their budget. Chief Rosario reported that some training had to be moved to the next fiscal year, and they received some funding from another source. Overtime was curtailed as much as possible. They were able to get reimbursements from County Finance and ended the year on a positive note without a deficit. In response to Commissioner Becker's inquiry, Chief Rosario stated that their request for a grant manager was denied. They will be getting two fire planner positions, one in Hilo