GREENWOOD TWP- The Greenwood Town Board has yet to approve a monthly treasurer’s report since the resignations of both the elected treasurer and clerk.
“We’ve been working on the report for days,” said Greenwood Chair Sue Drobac at the board’s July 12 meeting. She has been using her bookkeeping experience, along with her experience from being the township clerk, to assist interim treasurer Jeff Maus.
“We’ve gone back to April, but according to our bank statements and CTAS [the township’s accounting system), we are finding differences.” Drobac said they are also finding inconsistencies with other monthly reports that were given to the board.
“This has been a lot of work,” said Drobac, who asked the board if they would agree to pay her for the time she is spending on these problems, or if they would like to look into the cost of hiring a local accounting firm to help with the problem.
The board decided to have Drobac look into the cost of hiring an accounting firm, and she will report back at the August meeting. The board then voted to table the treasurer’s report.
Township resident John Bassing, during public input, addressed concerns that were brought to the board by fire department member Jim “Jet” Galonski at the June meeting. He began by thanking Galonski for his years of service to the township, but then noted that many of the issues raised by Galonski were not accurate. He noted that ISO ratings are based on training levels of the department in addition to water pumping capability, and that in fact many of the largest insurance agencies no longer use ISO ratings to determine insurance rates. He noted that department members currently have the highest annual PERA pension of any nearby departments.
“Jim wants more pension,” he said, “but they are getting more than any other department in the area. That money comes from the homeowners insurance we pay. The fund is invested 95 percent in stocks, and if the stock market drops the township is responsible.”
Bassing also said the town board has a vested interest in keeping the fire department meetings open and transparent.
“A case was brought to the state on the basis of a recording of a fire department meeting,” Bassing said. “At the next meeting they ruled that no recording was allowed. This alone is why transparency is needed.”
Interim Treasurer Jeff Maus, who is a fire department member, told the board he had been threatened with violence at a meeting during the time no recording was allowed.
Galonski said he didn’t have time to research everything, but he still had the opinion that the board wanted to override the will of the fire department members.
“I’ve gotten the impression that I am the enemy,” he told the board. “I’ve been hearing that people are quitting or want to quit the department.”
“The info I gave is still good,” Galonski said.
Galonski then gave the board a copy of a public data request form for information on any lawsuits, litigation, or legal action against the fire department, board of supervisors, or personnel in the last 10 years. He said he had submitted it to the former town clerk on May 12, but had yet to hear any response.

Fire department
training
The board discussed the issue of required training for fire department members. The fire department was not in agreement with the town board’s decision to require that members complete the state firefighter I and II training classes within two years of joining the department. This is a policy that was in place for about 30 years, until recently when it was loosened to completion time to within five years. The current department was asking to have it removed altogether.
Ralston appeared to be in agreement, saying that since the training was not mandated by OSHA, he felt it was a “detriment to the department.”
But others on the board did not agree.
“We need training,” said Drobac. “We want everyone trained and everyone healthy. There is a lot of liability when the fire department is called out.”
Drobac asked Fire Department Safety Officer Rick Worringer why the department had decided to get rid of the long-standing requirement to complete this training.
“We train internally all the time,” said Worringer. “Firefighter I and II is great training, but it’s mainly for interior firefighting. Only nine of our 17 members are trained for interior firefighting.”
Maus said the two classes require 151 hours of training, and that in the past, department members have completed the classes in less than a year.
“If you join, you want to be fully trained and be able to fully participate,” Maus said.
“The state puts these classes together and pays for it,” Maus said. “The state thinks it is important. It covers hazardous materials, extrication, wildland fires, and a whole litany of things that are important.”
Maus said there is an issue of liability if the department responds on a mutual aid call and the other fire chiefs don’t realize the members are not fully trained and can’t do certain things.
“It’s great that people want to help,” Maus said, “but you have to have both….you need the right people in place.”
Supervisor Rick Stoehr said “it is in the best interest to have as many trained firefighters as possible. You never know who can show up at a scene. You want people there trained in the fundamentals, so when push comes to shove, at least they have an idea of what is going on. We should shoot for Firefighter I and II.”
“We don’t want people out there who have no knowledge,” Stoehr said.
Worringer said he “agreed with that 100 percent. It is what we want to shoot for.” But he added it was possibly turning away someone that can’t comply in that time frame.
“But if we ask them to comply as soon as they can, maybe we can keep them on board until they can get this done at their pace. We are adding a body, not losing anybody,” Worringer said.
John Bassing asked if perhaps the department could incentivize completion within two years.
Ralston wondered if they kept the mandate to have it within two years, if the township could allow a firefighter to remain if they had a legitimate reason for not completing the classes on time.
“I don’t believe that’s for us to mandate something that none of us really know anything about,” Ralston said, “We are stepping outside the boundaries of being the employer of the fire department.”
“Volunteers are so hard to come by,” said Worringer. “I am not poo-pooing Firefighter I and II. I just don’t think we should mandate a time frame.”
Ralston said the issue needed more discussion.
Worringer said the department would be happy if it went back to five years for completion.
The board made no decision to change the requirement from the two-year timeframe.

Other business
In other business the board:
 Approved $469 in back pay for former deputy treasurer Tammy Mortaloni. The board had delayed payment because Mortaloni had not detailed her hours as requested by the board. Mortaloni also requested $150 in penalty from the township for the delay.
“We couldn’t read what she had handed in,” said Supervisor Barb Lofquist, “and she was asked months ago to submit it in typewritten form.” The board voted 4-1, with Paul Skubic voting against, to deny payment of the requested penalty payment.
The board also heard that the required paperwork (detailing which classes had been completed) for her fire department training reimbursement had not been submitted, and voted 3-2, with Skubic and Ralston voting against, to delay that payment until the paperwork was completed.
 The board decided not to relocate the current interior surveillance cameras because the quote received was over $3,400. The board will look into the cost of acquiring “nest” type cameras to install by the doors in the town hall.
 Approved hiring of election judges.
 Repealed Ordinance 2020-02, the township ordinance which set up an onerous 12-step process for public requests for township data.
“Jet wouldn’t get his information with this policy in place,” Lofquist noted.
The vote to repeal was 3-2, with Ralston and Skubic voting against.
 Awarded the quote for propane to low-bidder Ferrellgas for $1.849 for up to 5,000 gallons. The township owns its own tank, and typically uses between 3,000-4,000 gallons a year.
 Heard that the recreation committee would like to remain as a separate non-profit, and not a township committee. This gives them more flexibility for fundraising. They are still willing to act as the liaison for rentals of the town hall and pavilion. The committee is in need of new members, anyone interested should contact Greenwood Town Hall.
 Approved a $100 donation for the Tower-Soudan Fourth of July committee.
 Discussed the issue of someone leaving an electric car plugged into an outdoor outlet at the town hall parking lot.
This article was corrected because quotes originally attributed to Mike Ralston were actually from John Bassing