[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Lake Tomahawk as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-11-1988 as §§ 5.01 to 5.05 of the 1988 Code]
A.
The members of the Lake Tomahawk Volunteer Fire Department
are hereby officially recognized as the Fire Department of the Town
and the duty of fire fighting and the prevention of fires in the Town
is delegated to such Department. Its organization and internal regulation
shall be governed by the provisions of this article and by such bylaws
adopted by the Department as are approved by the Town Board, except
as is otherwise provided by law and ordinance.
B.
The Town Fire Department is hereby authorized and
directed to adopt bylaws for the control, management, government and
the regulation of business and proceedings of the Department, which
bylaws, after adoption by a 2/3 vote of the members of the Department,
shall not become effective and operative until presented to and approved
by the Town Board. Amendments shall be adopted in the same manner.
C.
The Town Board shall appropriate funds to provide
for operation and for such apparatus and equipment for the use of
the Fire Department as it may deem expedient and necessary to maintain
efficiency and properly protect life and property from fire.
A.
Membership.
(1)
Composition. The Fire Department shall consist of
the following officers: a Chief, an Assistant Chief, a Second Assistant
Chief, an Engineer, a Secretary and a Treasurer, together with as
many drivers and firemen as may be approved for membership according
to the bylaws of the Department. At no time shall the Department consist
of fewer than 23 nor more than 35 active members.
(2)
Roster. The Secretary shall annually provide the Town
Clerk with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all active
members of the Department and shall immediately notify the Clerk of
any changes in such roster so the Clerk's records for insurance purposes
may be accurate at all times.
B.
Chief.
(1)
A vacancy in the office of the Chief shall be filled
by an election of a majority vote of the members of the Fire Department,
subject to approval of the Town Board. Upon creation of a vacancy
in the office of Chief, the ranking officer shall perform the duties
of Chief until such vacancy has been filled. The Volunteer Fire Department
shall choose its own Chief, subject to approval of the Town Board.
(2)
The Chief shall immediately assume office and shall
hold office until removed for cause after a hearing by action of all
of the members of the Town Board, unless his services be sooner terminated
by resignation or death.
C.
Application.
(1)
Any person desiring to become a member of the Department
shall file an application with the Chief or Secretary. Approval of
such application shall require the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the
members present at any meeting of a quorum of the Department.
(2)
All resignations from the Department shall take the
same course as applications for and appointments to membership.
(3)
Absence from three meetings or drills in succession
without an acceptable excuse to the Chief shall be grounds for removal
from membership by a 2/3 vote of the members present at any meeting
of a quorum of the Department.
(4)
Any member or officer of the Department who has been
expelled or demoted for any offense or neglect of duty or insubordination
shall have the right to appear before the Town Board and state why
such penalty should not be confirmed. The Town Board may by a 2/3
vote order the Chief to reinstate the member or officer. The Secretary
shall report the name of each person removed or demoted to the Town
Board.
D.
Organization.
(1)
The Department shall organize into one or, at the
option of the Chief, two or more companies. The Chief may at any time
make transfers which he deems necessary between companies.
(2)
Each of the companies of the Department shall be in
the charge of an Assistant Chief or, in his absence, a captain or
lieutenant who shall be responsible to the Chief.
E.
Officers. The election of the Secretary and Treasurer
and such other social officers as the bylaws may require shall be
held at the annual meeting of the Department in such manner as is
provided in the bylaws. In case of any vacancy the Chief shall appoint
a member in good standing to fill the office until the next annual
meeting and election.
A.
The Chief shall have general supervision of the Department,
subject to this article and the bylaws of the Department, and shall
be responsible for the personnel and general efficiency of the Department.
B.
The Chief shall preside at all meetings of the Department,
call special meetings, prescribe order, decide all points of order
that may arise and enforce a rigid observance of this article and
the bylaws. The Chief shall have the right to appoint a Chairman to
preside at meetings of the Department in the place and stead of the
Chief.
C.
The Chief shall be present at all fires if possible,
have complete command of and entire responsibility for all fire-fighting
operations, plan the control of the same, direct the action of the
companies when they arrive at a fire, observe that every company does
its duty, grant leaves of absence at a fire when he may deem it proper
and see that the fire apparatus is kept in proper condition at all
times.
D.
The Chief shall have the power to demote or expel
any officer or member of the Department for neglect or refusal to
perform his departmental duties, such demotion or expulsion to be
subject to an appeal to the Town Board.
E.
Not later than September 1 of each year, the Chief
shall file with the Town Clerk a detailed estimate of the appropriations
needed for the conduct of the Department during the ensuing fiscal
year.
F.
The Chief shall submit a written report to the Town
Board each year relating to the conditions of the various pieces of
apparatus and appurtenances, the number of fires occurring since the
previous report, the date of same and loss occasioned thereby, the
number of members of each company, the total number of active members
in the Department and resignations and expulsions from the Department.
He shall also report upon the drill and training program of the Department,
together with other pertinent information, including recommendations
of such improvements as he deems proper and necessary for the operation
of the Department.
H.
He shall keep a fire record of every fire to which
any company was called and shall enter in such book the locality of
fire, time alarm was received, cause of fire, where fire started,
cause of delay (if any) in responding, method of extinguishment and
equipment used, amount of insurance carried on building and contents,
estimated fire loss, time fire was extinguished, names of men responding
and general remarks.
I.
He shall keep an inventory of all apparatus and equipment
and an inventory of all hose showing dates and results of tests on
each length, which shall be individually identified.
J.
He shall perform such other duties as are incumbent
on the commanding officer of the Fire Department.
A.
The Chief shall have control of all apparatus used
by the Department and shall be responsible for its proper maintenance.
Emergency repairs may be authorized by the Chief.
B.
No apparatus shall be used for any purpose except
for fire fighting within the Town limits, or in training therefor,
except pursuant to an agreement approved by the Town Board except
when the Chief has given his recommendations on such use. With the
approval of the Chief, such apparatus may be used for emergency purposes
other than fire fighting. A written report of all such uses shall
be made annually to the Town Board.
C.
No person shall willfully injure in any manner any
hose, hydrant or fire apparatus belonging to the Town, and no vehicle
shall be driven over any unprotected hose of a Fire Department when
laid down on any street, private driveway or other place, to be used
at any fire or alarm of fire, without the consent of the Fire Department
official in command.
A.
The Chief and assistants or officers in command at
any fire shall have full and complete police authority at fires. Any
member of the Department may cause the arrest of any person failing
to give the right-of-way to the Fire Department in responding to a
fire.
B.
The Fire Chief may prescribe certain limits in the
vicinity of any fire within which no persons, excepting fireman and
policeman and those admitted by order of any officer of the Department,
shall be permitted to come. The Chief shall have the power to cause
the removal of any property whenever it becomes necessary for the
preservation of such property from fire or to prevent the spreading
of fire or to protect adjoining property, and during the progress
of any fire he shall have the power to order the removal or destruction
of any property necessary to prevent the further spread of fire. He
shall also have the power to cause the removal of all wires or other
facilities and the turning off of all electricity or other services
where the same impedes the work of the Department during the progress
of a fire.
C.
Any fireman, while acting under the direction of the
Fire Chief or other officer in command may enter upon premises adjacent
to or in the vicinity of any building or other property on fire for
the purpose of extinguishing such fire, and if any person shall hinder,
resist or obstruct any fireman in the discharge of his duty as herein
provided, the person so offending shall be deemed guilty of resisting
a fireman in the discharge of his duties.
D.
Every person present at a fire shall be subject to
the orders of the Fire Chief or officer in command and may be required
to render assistance in fighting the fire or in removing or guarding
property. Such officer may cause the arrest of any person refusing
to obey such orders.
[Adopted 7-14-2010]
The Town Board of the Town of Lake Tomahawk, Oneida County,
Wisconsin, has the specific authority under § 66.0608, Wis.
Stats., to adopt this article.
This article, adopted by a majority of the Town Board on a roll
call vote with a quorum present and voting and proper notice having
been given, authorizes the Town of Lake Tomahawk's Fire Department
to hold volunteer funds in the name of the Lake Tomahawk Volunteer
Fire Department as provided in this article.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A federal or state credit union, federal or state savings
and loan association, state bank, savings and trust company, federal
or state savings bank, or national bank in this state that receives
or holds any public deposits or the local government pooled-investment
fund.
Town of Lake Tomahawk.
Funds of a municipality that are raised by employees of the
Town's Fire Department or by donation to the Fire Department
for the benefit of the Town's Fire Department.
A.
The Town Fire Chief is authorized to deposit volunteer funds in an
account in the name of the Lake Tomahawk Volunteer Fire Department
in any designated public depository.
B.
The Fire Department, through the Town Fire Chief, shall have exclusive control over the expenditure of volunteer funds of the Department, subject to § 47-11.
C.
Each month, the designated public depository shall be required to
mail a duplicate bank statement for each account directly to the Town
Treasurer disclosing all activity in the account for the preceding
month.
A.
The type of funds that may be deposited into the account described in § 47-10 is restricted to volunteer funds as described above.
B.
The only purposes for which withdrawals of volunteer funds from the account described in § 47-10 may be made are:
(1)
Withdrawals and expenditures made for any purpose that promotes the
ability of the Town Fire Department to provide services, including
fundraising purchases, for which it is organized, as determined by
a majority vote of the members of the Fire Department; or
(2)
The withdrawal must be approved in accordance with the adopted bylaws
of the Fire Department.
C.
The Fire Department is subject to the following reporting and auditing
requirements:
(1)
The Town Fire Chief, his/her designee, or the Fire Department Treasurer
shall provide the Town Board with quarterly statements of the Department's
volunteer funds as of the end of March, June, September, and December
of each calendar year. The statements shall be provided within 30
calendar days of the end of the calendar quarter. The statements shall
include a detailed itemization of all receipts, expenditures, and
the balance on hand at the end of the quarter. The source of all funds
and the identity of the payee for each disbursement shall be set forth.
(2)
The Fire Department accounts shall be included in the annual audit
of Town funds and shall be audited in the same manner as other Town
funds.
