Council meets Monday on fire department resolution

The Cathlamet Town Council will hold a special meeting Monday, 10 am in the Bradley Library to consider a resolution establishing that all normal fiscal management functions of the Cathlamet Fire Department shall be performed by town staff.

Last week, Mayor George Wehrfritz ordered town staff to cease handling department accounts. In a letter to council members, he said that he had been advised by the town's risk management adviser that under the existing ordinance governing the fire department, the council, not the mayor, has authority to direct or handle fire department business. As town clerks work under the mayor's authority, they also don't have authority to handle department financial business.

The proposed ordinance would authorize town clerks to handle fire department financial business as they have so far this year.