East Grand Forks City Council approves five-year extension of township fire and rescue services
May 22—EAST GRAND FORKS — The East Grand Forks City Council approved a five-year extension of the township fire and rescue contract at its Tuesday night meeting.
Since 2009, East Grand Forks has partnered with the surrounding townships to help provide fire and rescue services. The contract is set to expire next April, and East Grand Forks Fire Chief Jeff Boushee wanted to get the extension on the books. The contract includes a 2% increase in township payments for their annual payments between 2025 and 2023. The council
discussed the agreement last week, but formally approved it this week.
"I know there was little back and forth to get to this particular point and I think it's a good contract," said East Grand Forks Mayor Steve Gander at the work session last week. "We have a great relationship with the townships and the shared cost of the equipment is a really good program."
Between 2025 and 2020, the townships of Grand Forks, Sullivan, Keystone, Rhinehart, Huntsville and Bygland will pay the city to provide fire and rescue services. The payment starts at $61,095 and increase yearly until reaching $66,131 in 2030. The townships and city share equipment and help pay for capital improvements together.
"If we could continue that trend of renewing these contracts well in advance before they expire, that would be appreciated," council member Ben Pokrzywinski said during the work session. "I want to make sure when I have my heart attack that those guys are showing up to take care of me."
The council also approved budget transfers for the end of the 2023 fiscal year and audit results. Last week, Finance Director Karla Anderson presented the numbers to the council and the city came out ahead with $1.063 million in revenue over expenses. Many of those savings are due to staffing.
Because several positions were open and readjusted during 2023, there was $427,000 in personnel savings. According to City Administrator Reid Huttunen, the long-open accounting tech position will hopefully be closed with the council potentially approving the hire for the position as soon as next week.
The accounting tech position has been open for over a year. The opening has caused administrative staff to put in
181 hours of overtime between January 2023 and March 2024,
costing the city $8,674.28.
In other news, the council:
* Approved the renewal of liquor licenses for 12 establishments in the city. The council may hold a special meeting next week to approve additional renewals that had not filed their paperwork before Tuesday's meeting.
* Approved an increase to daily pool rates at Sherlock Park. Daily passes across the board are increasing by a dollar to reflect the increased costs of pool chemicals and operations. The pool is set to open on June 6 for the 2024 season. Parks and Recreation Superintendent Jeremy King said the increase will bring an additional $11,685 in revenue. The pool is expected to cost almost $195,000 to operate in 2024.
