Volunteer Study Committe Minutes
Date: November 17, 2014 Time: 19:00 Place: Fire Station
Attendance – P-Present, A-Absent, E-Excused
( P ) Kristine Hall – Past officer of the GFD
( A ) Paul Haupt-Renaud – Past member of the GFD
( P ) Bob Marshall – Planning Board Chairperson
( E ) Jim Murphy – Deputy Rescue Chief of the GFD
( P ) Glenn Roberge – Police Officer of the GPD
( E ) Loren White – Former Fire Chief of the GFD
( P ) Diane Boilard - Resident
( A ) Margo Charig Bliss - BOS informational
( A ) Deb Davidson - BOS informational
( P ) Karen Day - BOS informational
Chairperson Glenn Roberge opened the meeting at 7:05.
The Chair stated that Loren White resigned as Fire Chief recently. David Hall was appointed to take his place.
The committee wishes him well.
Diane B. asked to have the minutes amended to say she was here in October.
Review of the October minutes – necessary corrections were made and the group unanimously voted to accept
them as presented with the discussed changes.
At the last meeting, a set of redacted copies of the letters that Paul Haupt-Renaud brought to the August meeting
were sent to all members of the committee. Now that people have had time to read them, there were some
comments about possible trends or items in common these letters presented. They were:
● Lack of communication
● Leadership issues
● Sounded like a club
● Arbitrary decision making
● Verbal abuse
● Improper termination
● Mentoring of new members insufficient or improper
● Some member paid training that should have been reimbursed by GFD left unpaid
● Members from other towns not accepted
● Membership acceptance to include qualifications as well as distance
● Discrimination
● Non professional responses to applicants
● Unacceptable behavior tolerated
● Hostile work environment
● Degrading comments allowed
Many of these issues could be sins of omission or lack of training but they speak of a larger problem which
seems to boil down to a problem of leadership. Because the department is a close nit group, they need to feel
they are treated fairly. Not knowing why a person is let go is difficult to swallow especially by volunteers. Also
during elections of officers, open balloting to ensure trust in elections is a must.
Glenn R. said that in the last month, there hasn’ been a time that he didn’ see people respond to a daytime call.
He spoke with some of the Officers who are feeling that things are improving.
Bob M. said that one of the things that he felt was that no one has seemed to be accountable except at the ballot
box. He cited items from Jim Grant’ presentation in July about the culture in fire departments.
● Fire house environment may not feel inclusive or welcoming to some people
● Department infighting due to power struggles, cliques, personality clashes, favoritism etc. can split
membership
● Lack of leadership, mission and vision can drive members away
● Some members can become disenchanted with the overall management of the dept.
● Not unusual for some members to feel unappreciated for their service
● Some people may not be a good fit for being part of the fire service team
The committee discussed how we might make sure people are qualified and how we might evaluate them.
Diane B. mentioned the need to have structure and how important it is. She said she has been amazed that the
Select Board didn’ know anything about the department and that there wasn’ enough insurance. She said that
the town should know who the volunteers are and what they do for the residents of the town. We shouldn’ be
hiding the department, we should be celebrating them.
Bob M. said that he didn’ know anything either and that he didn’ know anything other than they needed money
for a truck.
Glenn R. said that the Officers felt that more structure is good. The Police Department is a para-military
organization and maybe the Fire Department should be a little more like that. Sometimes small things can be
reinforcement to let people know that they are appreciated.
Diane B. said that people need to know how important they are to the town and how much we appreciate them.
Kristine H. told about a family that they responded to and now they come and support the pancake breakfast
religiously.
Glenn R. said that those who have direct contact with the Police or Fire Department understand but many think
that their taxes take care of everything.
The committee discussed adding the issues to the Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG’). There is an SOG
book and perhaps some things like harassment, discrimination and professionalism should be put into a policy
manual.
Bob M. said we should start putting our list of recommendations together. Glenn said before we get too far with
it, we should look at the survey. The committee decided that there are three things that should be on our list so
far:
● There should be a Personnel Policy manual
● The Bylaws should be updated
● The SOG’ might need some additional items or updates
The committee talked about the Fire Association and how they could help to support the department by doing
the fund raising. Karen D. said that as far as she knew that is what the association was formed for. She said that
it would be nice if they would open it up for townspeople to join. Kristine said that the way it has been is that all
the FD members are on it but it would be better if it was separate.
The committee turned to the survey. The high points were:
● Aging membership
● Job commitments impacting ability to respond to calls
● Lack of structure
● Leadership issues
● Volunteering with other organizations
● Desire to help the community
● Lack of trust of the organization
● Call attendance requirements might be helpful
The conversation turned to things that could help the department get back on track.
● General training from Primex on ethics, harassment, & mentoring
● Financial incentives such as a discount on taxes, paying for training, supplying uniforms.
● Checking references and background checks when taking new members
● Instituting scheduling so the pressure of being on call 24/7 would be eliminated or reduced
● Steps to success to build learning skills and capabilities in increments
● Better community support
Glenn R. said that one thing that would be a way for the townspeople to show their appreciation would be to
throw a pancake breakfast for the department.
The committee tabled a discussion on the call logs until the December meeting.
The next meeting will be on December 15th at 7pm at the Firehouse. Proposed Jan. 5 for final meeting
depending on the timing of the annual report.
Adjourned at 20:50
Respectfully submitted by Karen Day
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