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Page 2 of 5 <br /> <br /> <br />northern Shoreview. One point of discussion by the board was the types of calls the department <br />responds to, this largely revolved around medical calls. The department responds to all types of <br />medical calls (non-life threatening to emergency), the board voted not to consider changing their <br />call response matrix. The department’s 2021 Annual Report is attached for more background on <br />fire department operations. <br /> <br />The department has noted in their long range plan that calls for service are increasing <br />approximately 8.5 percent annually, and will likely continue to increase as development in the <br />three cities continues. In 2021, the department noted they had 580 instances of two calls occurring <br />at the same time, and 113 instances of three or more calls occurring at the same time. Also, in <br />2021, the department notes that 4.5 percent of their shift hours went unfilled, which equates to one <br />or two positions unfilled of the four to six personnel on duty. <br /> <br />Future Staffing <br />The department has reviewed its existing operations and believes to best serve the three cities, it <br />needs to staff a third station (Station 130 on County Road I and Lexington Ave) 24/7 to provide <br />adequate coverage to northern Arden Hills and Shoreview, as well as, North Oaks. The department <br />presented three options to the board for discussion. <br /> <br />Option #1 – Hire an additional 40-50 part-time firefighters <br />This option was largely viewed as unrealistic by the fire department and board. The two big <br />reasons being inability to manage that many additional firefighters without hiring additional <br />command staff and the lack of ability to recruit that many additional part-time firefighters. <br /> <br />Option #2 – Hire 6 full-time captains/3 full-time shift commanders (recommended option by the <br />board) <br />This option was the recommended option by both the fire department and the board, it consists of <br />hiring six full-time captains in the nearer-term to work on and oversee the existing duty crews, and <br />later hiring three full-time shift commanders. This would be broken down into two phases, with <br />Phase I consisting of hiring the full-time captains, and Phase II consisting of the hiring of the full- <br />time shift commanders. This option and the financial implications will be explained in more detail. <br /> <br />Option #3- Transition to an all-career department <br />This option was also viewed as largely unrealistic as it would significantly increase the cost when <br />compared to the other two options. <br /> <br />Option #4 – Maintain current model <br />This option was not viewed as feasible as the department and board wants to increase the service <br />levels for areas that are currently underserved. <br /> <br />Following discussion by the board, the board voted that Option #2 was the staffing direction the <br />board wanted to pursue, but did not attach any timelines to the option, nor did it give the <br />department any authority to begin implementing the option. The board also directed the fire <br />department to present to each of the City Councils. <br /> <br />Option #2 – Hire 6 full-time captains/3 full-time shift commanders <br />While the board did not vote to begin pursuing this option, it did vote to authorize the department <br />to pursue a SAFER Grant through FEMA. The SAFER Grant would provide funding for new full- <br />time positions for the department for the first three years, and the cities would then have to fund the <br />positions following the first three years. The total amount of anticipated wages and benefits across <br /> <br /> <br />2