Decisions to make
The last several months have been busy for the KSFFA executive board. In addition to the monthly scheduled regional fire schools there have been several other conferences and educational opportunities that executive board members have attended. These additional conferences and workshops assist in instructor development to allow relevant and up to date information to be provided to attendees at KSFFA regional schools. Several of the board members also had the opportunity to attend the NVFC fall meeting in Kansas City, MO. In addition to being at the meeting to support NVFC chairman/KSFFA treasurer Steve Hirsch, we were also able to attend the various presentations regarding topics that are not only important to the Kansas fire service, but to the fire service as a whole.
Many have seen the survey that was distributed regarding the possibility of the FireWire being transitioned to a digital/online version only. Printing the bi-monthly newspaper continues to become more and more expensive, however it is my belief the membership needs to drive what occurs with the FireWire and a final decision will be brought to the floor at the Annual Conference in April.
Membership renewals will be coming out soon, if not already distributed by the time this article is printed. I would like to ask a huge favor of everyone, especially as we continue to make upgrades to the KSFFA website. The favor is that when you submit your department membership dues you also include a complete roster for your agency. As additional information and items are added to the website it is likely we will transition some information that is currently viewable to where only those affiliated with a department that is a member of the KSFFA can view certain information (such as a digital version of the FireWire). To do this we will need valid names and email addresses from you, the membership. Many departments have been doing this, and each year a few more departments submit rosters. While we know this may be a little time-cons-uming initially, it is important to us to ensure that the membership receives the information. Throughout the year we send out a lot of information via email, especially during the legislative session. The easiest way to ensure that you are receiving the information as quickly and efficiently as possible is to have a valid name and email address on your department membership roster.
A few of the KSFFA executive board members (1st VP Ron Ewing, 2nd VP Laramie McPherson, SE Trustee Chad Mayberry, Executive Director Courtney Fegter and myself) had the opportunity to attend the Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs annual conference hosted by the Manhattan Fire Department Oct. 30th-Nov. 1st. The conference was well attended with nearly 100 registered attendees and a full vendor hall. I would like to personally thank KSAFC President Chad Russell and the rest of the KSFAC executive board for inviting the KSFFA to attend the conference, provide updates on the KSFFA and participate as a vendor.
The executive board also attended the annual Mid-States Shares meeting in Des Moines, IA the weekend of Nov. 8-10. This year, in addition to the Iowa Firefighter’s Association who again hosted the meeting, there were firefighter association board members attending the meeting from Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota and those of us from the KSFFA. The primary meeting held on Saturday had an agenda full of updates from each state’s association as well as discussions on multiple topics such as recruitment, retention and benefits each association has been able to provide for their respective memberships. Several good ideas were picked up from other states, and many of the other associations had questions for the KSFFA executive board on items such as how the SAFER grant process was going as well as questions regarding the firefighter relief act.
This brings me to the most important topic of this editions article, and that is the FRA, specifically the FRA annual distribution. A few months ago, the KSFFA executive board was contacted by the Kansas Insurance Commissioner’s office to discuss the annual FRA distributions. Each firefighter relief association executive board, especially the secretary/treasurer and president knows the submission of financial documents according to (K.S.A. 40-1706(a)) need to be submitted each year to be eligible to receive FRA funds. All financial documentation according to the statute shall be submitted electronically, no later than April 1st of each year.
There is an issue the Insurance Commissioner’s office is experiencing with the number of FRA’s who are routinely failing to meet the April 1st deadline. Historically the Insurance Commissioner’s office has sent out notices to FRA’s that were delinquent as well as working with those FRAs to ensure the financial statements and/or declaration to participate were complete. However, there have been and continue to be occurrences of FRA’s being up to several months late filing the documents. This has become a progressive issue that for the past few years has seemed to have been getting worse. The delay in FRA’s filing of their documents with the Insurance Commissioner results in a delay in distribution of FRA funds as the funds cannot be distributed until all participating FRAs have submitted their documents to allow the Insurance Commissioner’s office to calculate how the funds will be distributed to each FRA. This has resulted in the Insurance Commissioner’s office having to make a few necessary decisions. Beginning with the 2025 FRA distribution, if your FRA secretary/treasurer has not completed and submitted the necessary information online by the April 1st deadline, your department’s FRA will be unable to participate for that year, meaning your FRA will not receive a disbursement, and I cannot be any clearer that it is my understanding, there will not be a grace period beyond April 1st.
In October I had the opportunity to meet with the Insurance Commissioner’s staff and legal team to discuss the issue and try to determine if and how the KSFFA executive board could assist with finding a solution to the issue. It is my understanding that notifications from the Insurance Commissioner’s office will be sent to each FRA starting in January. The KSFFA executive board will also send reminders via the email list (again, another important reason to submit names and email address) as well as distribute information on the KSFFA website and social media.
I cannot stress the importance of FRA secretary/treasurer’s getting the information completed and submitted via the Insurance Commissioner’s dedicated FRA website at
https://insurance.ks.gov/secure/FRAOnline/index.php
Notifications are also likely going to be sent to governing bodies including the city and/or county attorney of where the fire department is located. Again, the April 1st deadline will be strictly enforced beginning with the upcoming 2025 FRA distribution, please ensure that your FRA executive board and specifically the Secretary/Treasurer are doing their due diligence by submitting the required information by the April 1st deadline. And it would be great to see everyone Jan. 18th in Salina at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center for the annual FRA secretary/treasurer workshop. The FRA participation issue will be a primary agenda item for the workshop. We are also working on a few other agenda items that will include an update on the SAFER grant and information and presentation from the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
Until next time, be nice, be safe, and make every day a training day, those who depend on you deserve nothing less……
Shane Pearson,
President