The Perryville Board of Aldermen, meeting in regular session Sept. 17 at city hall, learned that the city’s fire department won’t be able to stay within budget for the 2024-25 year, but there’s a bright side to the increased costs.
City Administrator Brent Buerck addressed the board, explaining that the fire department has a full roster for the first time in years. This has resulted in an increased payroll, and he admitted that it’s unlikely the department will be enough to cover the cost of the additional personnel.
“Chief [Jeremy] Triller, [Assistant Fire Chief] Jeremy Mance and I met the week before last,” Buerck said. “They wanted to draw to my attention that this is a revised memo of the original number they were estimating. We just wanted to give the board a heads-up on what we would coin a ‘good problem.’ For the first time in as long as anybody can remember, we have a full roster of paid on-call firefighters, which is pretty incredible. I think it's 40. So, if [a firefighter] is not coming, they make an alternate, and [the firefighter] is still on the team. It's not to the same degree. But what's happening is because there are so many new guys — I think 11 — we're seeing a higher percentage responding every single time, which is driving up our costs.
“If you show up to the firehouse, you get a flat fee of roughly $22 or something like that. If you wind up going to the fire, it's about $47 and some change, regardless of how long you're there. So, if it's a grass fire that takes 30 minutes, you get $47.50. If it's a housefire that takes eight hours, you get $47 and whatever the change is. We're seeing increased responses, and we're seeing an increased roster, so our budget number is going to be a little off. We just wanted to tell you that now. It's not a bad problem. We'll adjust, but we wanted to make sure you guys were aware and, in part, celebrate that we’ve got a full roster of young, dedicated folks who are really doing their best to keep us safe.”
Asked by Ward 3 Alderman Clint Rice if the payroll included Jeremy Mance’s full-time salary as the city’s emergency manager position that he holds in addition to his role as assistant fire chief, Buerck said it did not.
“[His on-call pay] is included in this number, Clint, but not his full-time salary. I just want to make sure I answer that right.”
In other action, the board:
– entered into a $390,000 agreement with All Clear Pumping & Sewer, LLC for the Lead Service Line Inventory project.
– approved minor tweaks made to Buerck’s contract, which will allow the city administrator to assist other communities on a consultation basis. Although no such opportunities are imminent, the language was changed now as his contract is only reconsidered every three years, and Sept. 9 marked Bureck’s 15th year with the city.
Additionally, the board approved the amending of the city’s code of ordinances related to the city administrator, allowing him to live outside the city — already a part of the previous contract — and provide consulting services for other communities, but only with the board’s express approval or changes in Missouri state law.
– entered into an agreement for $3,500 with Dille Pollard Architecture for the public toilet improvement project at the Perry Park Center. The project will remodel the lower-level bathrooms at the park center, allowing direct access from the gym floor. Originally, Dille Pollard proposed no charge for the work, instead using an existing credit from a previous job to offset the costs.
“The staff preferred a separate contract and resolution for each project, as it will allow us
to better track related expenses in the future and ensure actual expenses are
applied to the correct account,” Buerck said.
– entered into a $20,000 agreement with Dille Pollard Architecture for the Perry Park Center Conference Room project, which will remodel a portion of the park center, eliminating one racquetball court to provide additional workout space and a meeting room upstairs. Plans are also to move the entrance to the second racquetball court, which will allow direct entry from the hallway instead of the weight room.
– entered into an $18,000 agreement with Dille Pollard Architecture for the Wastewater Treatment Buildout project. According to Buerck, this portion of the work at the new Wastewater Treatment plant was removed from the original plans as the city was “pushing the limits” of its budget due to supply chain struggles and inflationary increases for COVID construction projects. The city always intended to return with a smaller construction project to finish the inside of the laboratory and office spaces at a future date. The project is part of this year’s city budget and was intended to be someone’s winter work.
– entered into a sludge farm crop lease agreement with Tim Miesner. The current five-year agreement with Miesner Farms, which includes a renewable option for an additional five years, will expire in April. The new contract will be slightly higher than the current contract’s $5,991.23. Miesner was the only bidder.
Reports from the Public Works, Public Safety, Finance, Liaison and Economic Development were received. A report was heard from the city administrator regarding the Heimos Lift Station variance, airport runway construction, an update on phase two of the Lucas & Friends Playground project, a proposed roundabout on Alma Avenue, the refreshing of the city website, welcome to Perryville videos, an EPA study through Oregon State University, Forward Slash training, Kids Out & About video, May 15, 2025, SEMA training opportunity, an article on Gilster-Mary Lee receiving the First Spectrum Certified Designation and a recent Citizen Electric news release.
A report from the city engineer, as well as board concerns and comments, were heard.
