Rochester Hills Legistar System

when reviewing the City's Master Plan.

* Grant money may be available for homeland security from Oakland County.

* The Fire Department is hiring one (1) full-time firefighter due to one (1) being moved

into the Inspections Division.

* Capt. Smith noted that an exhibit will be coming to the Detroit Science Center this

summer that deals with the ravages of drugs in our society. It will also travel around the

country. It will contain a "high tech" interactive component that deals with

"narco-terrorism" and will bring awareness to the fact that a large percentage of terrorist

operations around the world are involved in drug trafficking as a revenue source. It will

contain actual pieces of wreckage from the towers that were destroyed on September

11, 2001.

* Mr. Lee Zendel, 1575 Dutton Road, questioned the amount of drug usage in

Rochester Hills. Capt. Smith noted that it is the same as it was last year.

* Mr. Barnett noted that he serves on the Rochester Community Coalition which tracks

substance abuse for fourth, eighth and twelfth grade students. The statistics for drug

abuse in Rochester Hills are startling.

* Mr. Barnett also noted that he serves on the Community Development & Viability

(CDV) Committee and gave an update regarding the snow plowing issue as it relates to

public safety. The following points were noted:

- Due to the failed road millage in November 2004, there are serious budget issues

regarding local road maintenance. Some residents favor a small millage for snow

plowing, but in sixty (60) days, the issue will be fixing pot holes, repaving, etc.

- The Mayor approved a Snow Plowing Policy that recognizes emergencies come

first and local streets are plowed accordingly. The policy is aired on the City's cable

channel.

- Residents need to understand that City funds are dedicated and divided for

specific needs and purposes according to dedicated millages, state regulations,

accounting practices, etc. They also need to understand that only about one-third (1/3)

of their property taxes are directed to the City. The remaining taxes are directed to the

county, school districts, libraries, etc.

- The Department of Public Service (DPS) had to prioritize their annual budget in

terms of the most important needs which resulted in reduced manpower from thirteen

(13) to six (6) DPS employees for snow plowing. The Water and Sewer budget is

separate from the DPS budget and cannot be co-mingled.

* Vice Chair Raschke asked the following questions:

- How does the Fire Department know the availability of manpower for weekend

coverage?

- How are fire personnel paid when they arrive at their station after a call is

cancelled?

* Chief Walterhouse responded as follows:

- Each station is required to have a least one (1) person available to drive an

ambulance.

- Firefighters and paid-on-call (POC) employees perform a "call-in".

- Station officers will notify Dispatch if they are short-staffed. Dispatch can then

bypass a station that is low on manpower.

- If a firefighter or POC is dispatched and they arrive at the station and the call is

cancelled, they are paid.

- If there is an ongoing call and a firefighter or POC that is dispatched does not

arrive within twenty (20) minutes from the dispatch time, they are not paid.

* Capt. Smith invited Mr. Eble and Mr. Elliott to "ride along" with a Deputy whenever it

was convenient for their schedule. They can call the Sub Station to make arrangements

and sign a waiver required by Oakland County. Citizens must be 18 years of age.

The Committee acknowledged that this was the last Public Safety Meeting for Chief

Walterhouse. He accepted the Fire Chief position with Mt. Pleasant. They thanked him

for his fine service and wished him well at his new job.