The Porter Town Council met briefly Thursday to wrap up year-end business and enter into a 2013 contract with the Porter Volunteer Firefighters Inc. that staffs the Porter Fire Department.

Council president Greg Stinson said the agreement contains some changes including moving up to Nov. 15, 2013 --- or as soon as tax monies become available --- when the town will make its payment of $40,992 to the PVFI as the department. Payment is conditioned on the department submitting certain financial information, a list of firefighters and how much each one received from the town’s payment.

The department also will receive a maximum $11,212 clothing allowance for 2013 pending compliance with other terms of the agreement; the town will provide firefighters with insurance coverage, health physicals and vaccinations.

There currently are 25 firefighters and the chief, who is a full-time town employee, on the department but it wants to increase that number to approximately 30 firefighters. The agreement stipulates if additional funds are necessary for that purpose, the Town Council must approve the hiring first.

Among its listed obligations, the department shall respond to all fire calls concerning real and/or personal property in the Town of Porter as well as in Dune Acres and Westchester Township, both of which contract with the town for fire service.

The department agrees to provide the town with detailed financial statements such as bank statements on a quarterly basis reflecting all income from non-town sources and identifying how such income was expended by the department. Stinson said requiring the statements quarterly rather than annually or monthly was a compromise.

Vote to approve the 2013 fire contract was 4-0 with member Elka Nelson absent.

In other action at the request of clerk-treasurer Carol Pomeroy, the council approved a transfer of $5,900 from the CEDIT fund to the Lease/Rental fund to cover a shortfall; approved three pages of year-end transfers within fund and department budgets; encumbered $29,600 in the MVH road fund to pave streets next year; and appropriated $5,918 for police beach patrols this year and $6,500 for the same purpose in 2013.

Pomeroy thanked Jeanine Biesboer and Janice Clark for decorating the town hall Christmas tree in a blue-and-silver theme this year, and Sherrill Newman for arranging the large urns at the town hall entrance with holiday greenery.

Winners of the Christmas outdoor decorating contest will be announced next month.

The Porter Redevelopment Commission met even more briefly than the council Thursday confirming the $15,000 purchase of an easement from Jean Welsh for construction of the new Porter Avenue lift station, and approving the first $159,925 payment to Grimmer Construction on the project. Votes were 3-0 with Nelson and member Al Raffin absent.

Posted 12/28/2012