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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP

Former clerk Trancheff to retire from FD admin position in July

Jodi Summit
Posted 6/15/16

GREENWOOD TWP- Current Fire Department Administrative Assistant/911 Coordinator Ellen Trancheff notified the town board in writing that she will be retiring from her position as of July 31. Trancheff …

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GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP

Former clerk Trancheff to retire from FD admin position in July

Posted

GREENWOOD TWP- Current Fire Department Administrative Assistant/911 Coordinator Ellen Trancheff notified the town board in writing that she will be retiring from her position as of July 31. Trancheff had also been serving as the town clerk, but lost to newcomer Sue Drobac in this year’s township election.

Trancheff has not attended any town board meetings since the election, even after being requested to give a monthly report along with other township employees.

The administrative assistant position came with a salary of $9,291 a year, and was approved with a three-year contract in January.

The position of 911-coordinator has been controversial for many years. It is not a paid position in any other area township, and with only 8-12 new fire numbers assigned most years, township residents have urged the board to eliminate the position or move the duties to another employee. The township had previously been paying Trancheff $5,000 a year for her duties as 911-coordinator, on top of the clerk salary and fire department secretary salary. Many townships have St. Louis County assign fire numbers, but this is not possible in Greenwood because the township opted, when the 911 numbering system was first put in place, to use their own numbering system, which easily designated between land and water-access structures.

No decision was made on whether or how to replace Trancheff. Previously, some have volunteered to assume the 911-coordinator duties. In some townships, the duties are done by the clerk.

The board thanked Trancheff for her 20-plus years of service to the township.

Attorney bills

The town board again struggled with how to handle a bill from the former township attorney Tim Strom that the board did not elect to pay at last month’s meeting.

Chair Rick Worringer said he felt the township needed to pay the bill in full, and then deal with the issue on their own, possibly asking for reimbursement for calls made that were not authorized.

The disputed part of the bill mostly stems from the conflict when the new clerk was sworn in but was not permitted access to the clerk’s office space.

About ten hours of the billing had been called into question, at a cost of around $1,400.

Supervisors John Bassing and Carmen DeLuca have sought to clarify what was discussed during the ten hours that are being disputed, as well as access to any email discussions that occurred. The calls in question were made by Worringer, a supervisor at the time, and Planning Director Julia Maki.

Worringer stated he would be willing to reimburse the township for the billing on calls that he made without authorization.

“I am willing to pay my fair share of the bill,” he said, “but I don’t want to subject that to anyone else.”

Attorney Strom, responding to questions from the board last month, said the billing includes who he had spoken to, what was being discussed, and time spent.

The town board has since changed the policy on contacting the attorney, so this situation would not be repeated.

The board approved paying the non-contested portion of the bill, and will have the clerk contact the attorney for more information on the contested portion of the bill.

The board also discussed the new policy for contacting the attorney. Worringer asked if the planning director could speak directly to the attorney, if needed. Right now, a supervisor needs to be part of any such call. The board did not decide to change the policy, and the issue became moot when later in the meeting, the board voted to eliminate local control of zoning.

Paid On-Call/

EMS payments

The board has been informed by both their attorneys and staff attorneys from the Minnesota Association of Township that they need to treat the monies paid to fire department members for paid on-call as salary, and withhold taxes as required. The township will do this retroactivity to this January. Payments made directly into the pension fund are not affected, and are treated as tax-free.

In other fire department news, Chief Fazio submitted a written report noting that the department was in favor of moving their pensions into the state PERA system, and upping the annual amount to $2,200. He said the department is in the process of approving bylaw changes, and that all members will be submitting the paperwork needed for the new payment policy.

The department has also updated the paid on-call policy, but hadn’t yet forwarded them to the town board for review or approval.

The fire department is hosting a fire extinguisher training for the public on Tuesday, June 21 at 6:30 p.m. Residents can stop by to have their units tested, with recharges available for a cost. The township will also be selling new fire extinguishers at a discounted price, with a limited number available. Please call the town hall at 218-753-2231 for information. Free smoke detectors will also be available.

The fire department responded to 17 EMS calls and four fire calls last month.

Other business

In other business the board:

• Heard population estimates from the state demographer that put the township’s population at 911 with 419 households.

• Granted a request from Rick Stoehr to place a Disabled American Veterans clothing collection box at the town hall.

• Heard an update on the pavilion project. The pavilion will be mostly completed in time for the barbecue fundraiser set for July 9. The recreation committee has raised almost all the funds needed for the project, and expects to meet their fundraising goal at the barbecue.

• A motion to require a mileage log be kept for the township pickup truck failed 2-3, with Bassing and DeLuca voting in favor.

• Again requested information from Fire Chief Dave Fazio, who was not at the Tuesday meeting, about run reports and service records for 2014.

• Approved spending up to $2,000 to have an architect from DSGW design options for a fire alarm system, and to contact a grantwriter to look for possible funding sources.

• Thanked Howard Ankrum for his time spent on the Board of Adjustment, and noted he could not longer serve on the board since he was technically an employee of the township since he was a fire department member.

• Donated $100 to the Tower-Soudan Fourth of July.

• Accepted further donations from the Greenwood Community Recreation Board for the pavilion project.

• Requested that township salaried employees attend board meetings to give their reports in person and answer questions if needed.

• Clerk Drobac is establishing a new email list for those interested in receiving notices of any special meetings. To get your name on the list, please email the clerk at greenwoodtownship@ frontiernet.net and ask to be put on the list’.