05. Staff Report 2023 hiring update
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: May, 3rd 2023
To: City Council
From: Mike Hinz, Fire Chief
Re: Approval to Hire 4 new members
Background:
Scandia fire department currently has a roster of 26 employees. Our goal personnel number is 30, this number
was derived from the fact that we are a paid on call department and not every employee is available all the time.
A medical response call requires 4 personnel, a motor vehicle accident requires 11 personnel on average and a
structure or wildland fire requires at least 16 personnel for the initial response, but will use 30-40 personnel by
the time the fire is extinguished.
For this reason, we have requested to hire up to 5 personnel every year, until we can reach our goal of 30 active
members.
This year we did receive 10 applications, but after review of the applications and the interview process, 3 of the
applicants have withdrawn their application and 2 were not able to meet the test or background check
requirements.
Issue:
Should the council approve hiring 4 new members?
Proposal Details:
Scandia Fire and Rescue would like to hire 4 applicants; Patrick Lee, Mike Rosenthal, Paul Foss and Kevin J.
Gonzales conditional on passing Osceola hospitals physical / medical testing and a Criminal background check.
We would also have Wesley A. Giddings put on a 1 year eligibility list. These 5 applicants have completed &
passed the interview process and agility test at the fire station. The 1 applicant on the eligibility list will
complete the Osceola physical now and be called upon if there is an opening before our next hiring cycle.
Fiscal Impact:
The fiscal impact per year per employee is estimated at $2,200. This includes certification classes (EMT & FF1
each class $1600), hourly wage during in-house training and hourly wage for responding to emergency calls.
Options:
(1) Approve the conditional hiring of Patrick J. Lee, Michael R. Rosenthal, Paul E. Foss and Kevin J.
Gonzales and approve placing Wesley A. Giddings on the eligibility list for 1 year.
(2) Approve conditional hiring of some of the candidates
(3) Not approve hiring of any personnel
Recommendation:
Option (1).