Eden Valley approves rescue PERA adjustment, discusses other issues

The Eden Valley City Council made a motion to approve a new formula for its PERA (Public Employees’ Retirement Association) Defined Contribution Plans (DCP) formula to a $5 per hour/per call salary per rescue member. It’s a change that came after an audit found that the city’s rescue members were not eligible for this, based on state statute.

The city’s legal department is going to bring this issue to the legislature to get the city’s rescue members approved for this. 

After this motion, several city officials said a few words.

“Again, this isn’t us as a city doing this,” Mayor Brent Bengtson said. “It’s state law.”

Anderson also gave a message to all of those who are listening and those who talk to anyone on rescue.

“We’re doing whatever we can to make this work,” city clerk Cindy Anderson said. “It’s not because we don’t want to provide for them, because we do.”

Council member Troy Huschle added, “We appreciate what they do – everybody: fire, rescue, it doesn’t matter.”

When the city would get a new rescue member, it would register them under the PERA  Defined Contribution Plans (DCP). This time around, when city clerk Cindy Anderson sent in the city’s info on this, she was contacted back, asked whether a member was on the ambulance. Anderson said no and that their members are not ambulance, but rescue. After much communication, she was told that the city’s rescue members were not eligible for this PERA DCP.

The city approved rescue -members getting this PERA benefit back in 1990. Today, the city provides $700 for every PERA member, and those who choose to participate can match it. Some do and some don’t. The city budgeted $14,000 for this last year (20 members at $700 each).

The city is unable to do this flat rate anymore, having to adjust to the per hour/per call basis. This comprises rescue hours, including training and call hours. Anderson said this doesn’t apply to fire hours, as those hours already go toward their pension.

“If we change it to $5 per call, if we use those same hours, some people are going to get a lot more,” Anderson said. “Those who … have more hours, they respond to more calls and come to more trainings are going to get more.”

Before the approval, Bengtson said the city obviously can’t continue doing what it’s doing, and added how this would encourage rescue members to do their trainings. He also offered some understanding to those with fewer hours.

“I also can see that’s really going to impact some members,” Bengtson said, “because some members probably have legitimate reasons why they can’t attend as many calls.”

Other items

The city discussed an $11,850 quote from Thielen Excavating to extend the fire department parking lot. According to Anderson, the city has $33,000 in its fire hall building fund. The city tabled this issue for now, wanting to get more answers from its public works department on how much  more it would cost to do more inches of Class-5 concrete.

The city approved a $10,000 quote from FlowSeal Surface Maintenance to repair street cracks. The city has a budget of $40,000 for street repairs.

Also of note, the Eden Valley Clean Up Day is on Saturday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Eden Valley Public Works Building. No hazardous waste will be accepted at this time.