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8.c1 Staff Report 2020 Hiring Approval Staff Report Date of Meeting: December, 17 2019 To: City Council From: Mike Hinz, Fire Chief Re: Firefighter recruiting for 2020 Background: Scandia Fire & Rescue is a POC (paid on call) fire department. We currently have a staff of 22 firefighters (4 of these are on probation until June). We feel that a reasonable staffing level is 30 members. This number has proven to be adequate in the past. Over the last few years we have had a large turn over. The roster consists of 1 chief, 2 assistant chiefs, 3 captains, 1 engineer and 15 firefighter / EMT’s currently. Issue: Should we recruit and add up to 5 new members to the fire department roster? We are currently under staffed. Proposal Details: Start the process to hire up to 5 new members Time line; • December 17th - City council approve recruiting of up to 5 new members • February 24th - March 20th = Take applications (active recruiting) • March 26th – 31st = Review applications (Fire Officers) • April 6th – 10th = Interviews (Mike H, Bill H, Ian S & Ken C.) • April 18th Physicals at fire station (Officers & all members) • April 22nd – 28th = Second interview if needed (Mike H, Bill H, Ian S, Ken C.) • May 6th = Council approval (pending medical exam) • May 11th – 15th = Medical exam (Osceola Hospital) • May 17th = Family Meeting (All) • June 1st = Start date (Fire Officers) Fiscal Impact: Staff time $200. If hired costs; Can be discussed further at the May approval meeting. Osceola Fit test $500 Wages for the first year would be less than $5,000 for all 5 members, Training cost for the first 2 years $8,000 per year for 5 recruits (firefighter & EMT training) After 2 years turnout gear $2,000 per member Options: (1) Approve recruiting up to 5 new members per the time line provided (2) Approve a different number of new members (3) Do not approve hiring any new members Recommendation: Option (1). Recommend we proceed with the hiring process; final decision can be made May 1st. Waiting could cause further under staffing problems.