Turkey Creek Fire Chief Mickey Scott, left, presents his monthly report while township attorney Andrew Grossnickle peruses paperwork at the Monday, Dec. 14, meeting of the Turkey Creek fire board. InkfreeNews Photo by Ray Balogh.

By Ray Balogh
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Turkey Creek fire and township boards Monday, Dec. 14, unanimously approved Fire Chief Mickey Scott’s request to grant holiday overtime pay for part-time fire department personnel.

“We would like to amend the salary resolution to provide that part-time employees who work on a paid holiday will receive 1 1/2 times their normal compensation for the hours they work,” requested Scott.

He asked the amendment be effective Dec. 15, so the boards passed motions to simultaneously amend the current 2020 and the upcoming 2021 salary ordinances. Neither ordinance previously provided any such overtime compensation.

The amendment adjusted the following hourly rates for holiday work:

• Firefighter/paramedic, $16 to $24

• Paramedic non-firefighter, $14 to $21

• Firefighter/ EMT-A or B, $12 to $18

• EMT-A or B, $10 to $15

Fire Board

Scott presented his November monthly and year-to-date reports:

• The department responded to 115 fire and EMS calls in November, with no fire damage reported in the territory. “Through the end of November, we have had 1,033 EMS responses and responses and 201 fire responses with an estimated $138,900 in property loss due to fires and an estimated $1,343,200 in property saved from damage,” he said.

• Department personnel completed 304 hours of fire and EMS training during the month. Topics included familiarization with the department’s new fire engine, physical agility tests, fire ground operations and tactics, equipment and apparatus inspections and operational checks, cardiac monitor training, CPR recertification and toxicology review.

• Syracuse Town Council approved up to $20,000 from CARES Act funds “for expenses incurred by our department as a result of COVID-19,” Scott said.

• The department has utilized 75.6% of its allotted budget for the calendar year. The only line item exceeding the budgeted amount was medical supplies, in part due to COVID-19 related expenditures and replacement of outdated supplies.

• The department is completing the process of donating its replaced 2002 fire engine to a U.S. Forest Service station in Nacimiento, an unincorporated community in west central California. The station was one of 14 buildings destroyed in the Dolan Fire, which started Aug. 18.

• Two firefighter/EMTs, Joshua Taylor and Geoffrey Ellingwood, successfully completed their paramedic training. “We would like to publicly congratulate both members on passing the class,” said Scott. “This is a huge milestone in their careers.” Taylor and Ellingwood are scheduled for certification testing in January 2021.

Township Board

The board appointed township and fire board members for 2021. John Heckaman was chosen as president of the fire board and Dennis Darr will continue as a member for the coming year. Corky Wong was selected to another one-year term to serve as the at-large member for the fire board.

Township Trustee Julie Close presented her financial reports for November. Two unique expenditures were noted in her report.

• The township paid $1,822.80 to Everitt Fire Pump Service LLC for damage repair resulting from a vehicular accident at the fire department. The expense was paid for by an insurance check received for the incident.

• Another outlay was $5,863.50 to Plymouth-based Mullets Fencing & Supplies LLC for installing a new fence at Cable Cemetery.

Poor relief was disbursed during the month in the following amounts:

• Rent, $700

• Utilities, $3,001.22

• Food, $497.65

The amounts represent an uptick from October’s expenditures but fall below those of September.

The fire board will next meet at 6:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Syracuse Town Hall. The township advisory board will meet at 7 p.m.