The board that oversees retirement benefits for Denison's firefighters will decide Thursday, Nov. 12, whether to pay for a study on one question: should the fire chief's job stay in the firefighters' pension plan?
The Denison Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund board of trustees meets at 11 a.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 300 W. Main St. Its agenda, posted Nov. 5, lists a vote on hiring the actuarial firm Rudd and Wisdom to perform a special study on the fire chief position remaining in the plan, at a cost of no more than $5,000.
Tabled once already
The same item came up at the board's Oct. 8 meeting, and the minutes describe a long discussion. Trustees Laurie Alsabbagh and Teresa Adams said they wanted to hear from Interim Fire Chief C. Henderson about whether he planned to join the Texas Municipal Retirement System, the statewide plan that covers many city employees, or stay in the firefighters' fund.
Henderson came before the board and said he did not yet have all the information he needed to decide, but that he would like to remain in the fund, according to the minutes. Trustees concluded that ordering the study might be premature and voted unanimously to push it to the November meeting.
The question follows a change at the top of Denison Fire Rescue. The City Council's Oct. 19 meeting was the last for Chief Kenneth Jacks, who was retiring, and the mayor credited his five years of leadership with milestones including an ISO 1 rating and bringing EMS back under the department.
