Council talk afterward questions public comment claims

Joseph Back Assembling nine strong at the Stanley Common Council meeting for December 2, the Stanley Fire Department represented by Fire Chief Korey Hagenson and backed up in public comment by Jody Halterman put its request before the council during public comment: don’t cut department funding in next year’s budget.

After the dust had settled and he meeting continued, the Council discussion following called into question whether long-term department funding had really been cut or was simply less than it had been the previous year, when a sizeable increase occurred for turnout gear replacement. First though, there was the Chief’s Report to wade through.

Included in the Council packet for the December 2 meeting, Fire Chief Hagenson laid out _re department activities up to

November 16 in his bi-monthly report. As of the middle of November, the Stanley Fire Department had washed down its equipment from a grass _re

as of November 16, Hagenson wrote the Council in addition that the Stanley Fire Department had started to do hose testing and had Great Lakes Testing come to do annual ladder testing. Meanwhile, a light switch panel update on tender (water truck) 1 for the department had been started, while needs for the following year had begun to be looked into. The _re department had ordered a gear drier with the money raised for Stanley by Martino’s and Hagenson had talked to Thorp and Cornell regarding equipment lists from their departments. The Fire and EMS reports had been done for the last two weeks and more cleaning of equipment and paperwork catchup was planned for the second half of November, Hagenson told the Council—all of which preceded the December 2 appearance before the Council, whereat the budget for next year was to be approved.

Appearing during public comment, Hagenson and Halterman laid out their case to those tasked with budget approval: don’t cut the department’s budget. Hagenson spoke _rst, followed by Halterman.

Presentation of concerns of the

public,” Haas read from the agenda. “Korey, you’re _rst.”

Stanley Fire Chief Korey Hagenson began his remarks.

“Good evening council members. I have a few questions about the 2020 budget,” he

said. “I was not aware of the public hearing until 50 minutes beforehand and was not around on 12-3-2020. My _rst question is, why did the _re department budget get cut for 2021 when we went over in 2020? In 2020 we had $142,000 and in 2021 our budget has been cut to $126,000” as the two

percent dues were not part of the budget, Hagenson said, going on. “If the budget keeps getting cut, how are we supposed to save up for a new truck at the end of the year if there’s nothing to save? My next question is, when is the Council planning to purchase a new pumper? We have not purchased a pumper since 2003 and the truck is really starting to show it’s age.” While the _re

department had put in $15,000 of repair on the current truck in 2020, a new pumper could cost anywhere from $400,000 to $500,000, and the price would only increase with time. Hagenson’s next and _nal

comment had to do with a petition he was circulating

to become the full-time _re

chief in Stanley, which he said many prospective signers already thought was full time.

“We do not just take care of the City of Stanley,” Hagenson said of the Stanley Fire Department and its’ services. “We go into Colburn and Wilson townships as well.” Colburn is located north of 130th Avenue in Chippewa County and Wilson is located south of Edson township in Eau Claire County. Having been told that there needed to be 4,000 people to make the _re chief position full time, Hagenson said that this was met between the City of Stanley and the two townships in question, also saying the people should have a say in the _re chief position

being full-time. Next up was Jody Halterman, who supported Hagenson in his remarks.

“I’d like to begin by saying that I’d like to thank Korey and the rest of his of_cers for

what they’ve done with the

_re department,” Halterman

said, including the relationships they had built between

the _re department and others in the community. “I’ve been a council member, I’ve sat in those chairs, I know budgets are tough,” he said.

Nonetheless, it was important

to fund the _re department

appropriately, as one truck was reportedly 28 years old.

“Years ago it was set up so

that so much was allotted each year so we could get a

new truck every so often,”

he said. “That disappeared

somewhere along the line.”

Appearing after Halterman for a different cause was Don Daniels on behalf of the Stanley Snowmobile Association, seeking help with a trail crossing reroute in the area of the City’s Industrial Park. It was decided that Daniels would meet with select council members and go over the necessary reroute on the Thursday after the meeting.

Later on,in the Monday meeting the Council called into question the contention of a cut _re department budget,

as it was over $35,000 higher than it had been prior to 2020, when the budget had seen a raise to purchase turnout gear.

“What I’m kind of looking at right here; 87, 92, 104,–it went up to 163 because we added approximately $45,000—approximately $41,000 for the turnout gear,” Kent Barby

said of the turnout budget. “So when we have a proposed budget of $132,000, we’re giving them more than (they had).”

At the time of the turnout gear it was requested by a council member that the _re budget have a reset due

to the need to not run into the same problem again.

As to a $500,000 truck being purchased in the time frame given, “that’s not even feasible,” one council member

shared as their opinion. There

was a _nite number of budget

dollars to go around to each city department, and members appearing before the council to approve purchases (as with public works and wastewater) was a matter of simple good procedure, expected from all city departments.

“We’re all there,” Hendrickson said of the Council feelings toward helping the _re department gets its responder levels and other things where they needed to be, but the council and _re department needed to work

together—and that was that.