Volunteer firefighter pay change tabled

A pay change for volunteer firefighters was tabled by the Eunice Board of Aldermen Tuesday following a protest by a firefighter. 
Eric Conde, a volunteer firefighter, said, “We probably do 90 percent of the work at the fires. The paid firemen do their jobs. We do all the fighting, extrications, search and rescues.”
Mayor Rusty Moody said the change was proposed because volunteer pay totaled more than $60,000 last year. 
“That’s a big chunk out of the city budget,” Moody said. “I’m not saying you all don’t deserve it.”
Volunteers are paid $20 per call. 
The proposed change scales the pay based on the firefighter’s training level and the nature of the call. 
Brian Miller, interim Eunice fire chief, stated in a letter to the mayor and aldermen that the volunteer chiefs, John Brown, Eunice volunteers; Harold Johson, District 4; and Jeff Fruge, District 6; had agreed to the changes. 
According to the letter, volunteers would be paid $10 for medical, vehicle accidents, rescue and all non-structural calls. Volunteers would be paid $10 for car and grass 
ires and, if the call lasts longer than two hours, the pay will increase $5 for non-firefighter 1 personnel and $10 for firefighter 1. Thirdly, volunteers would be paid $15 to $20 for structural alarms -- $15 for non-firefighter 1 and $20 for firefighter 1. 
There are about 100 volunteer firefighters. 
In other business, hours were set for the city parks and City Lake of sunrise to sunset with exceptions. 
Once exception is the Community Nature Trail where hours are 4 a.m. to sunset. 
The sunrise to sunset park hours excludes ballparks, tennis courts and basketball court pavilions.  Entrance to the parks outside the hours in ordinance would be under the approval of the mayor.
The mayor was authorized to execute an agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development for $27,000 in engineering costs associated with a taxiway project at the Eunice Airport. 
Aldermen also approved the following:
-- Appointing John R. Young to the library board to serve the remainder of Ricky Coutee’s term;
-- Hiring Greg Reed as a provisional jailer; and
-- Declaring a police department 2002 Ford van as surplus.