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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — OCTOBER 13, 2025 4 retirement. They will lose some of them to the other communities that have full-time opportunities. Assistant Chief of Operations/Emergency Manager Matt Sather said this is real. Until we get twelve more, they won't have a point of stability. That would give us two people at each station 24 hours a day that are full-time. The part-time positions won't go away. They can't fill the part- time hours available now. They want to get to the point where they are able to fill the part-time hours available. Councilmember Holden asked what the cost is to train a new firefighter over that first two years. Chief Boehlke said the training, turn out gear and uniforms is over $10,000. Councilmember Monson knows that recruitment is very expensive for a fire department. She asked if they have discussed incentives that would encourage the current part-time firefighters to work more hours. Chief Boehlke said they have discussed different things. The pay rate for part-time firefighters is in line with surround suburbs. They received a 5% increase this year. Councilmember Monson asked what the pay rates are today. Chief Boehlke said it is $21.25 for a part-time firefighter and $22.35 next year. There is a tipping point. Not everyone is chasing the dollars. A lot of them are here for the pension. They provide a lot of the typical benefits. It is their belief that people are just tapped out and don't have the time. Councilmember Monson asked if they have done an economic comparison. Could they outline what an increase to $25/hour would look like vs. the cost to the cities for three new full-time plus three more? Have they considered breaking it down like that and letting the cities make the decision. Assistant Chief of Operations/Emergency Manager Sather doesn't know what that would do to the part-time staff. It is hard to extrapolate that to an outcome. Councilmember Monson said an economic comparison would allow the cities to make a choice as to if they want to go full-time or if they think creating more incentives could retain the part- time people. She has no idea what that would look like. It would be nice to have that information. She asked if the Fire Board has voted on the strategic plan or the FTEs. Chief Boehlke didn't think the board had any intent to vote on the strategic plan. It is a working document. The budget hasn't been approved yet. He expects that at the November meeting. They are asking for three full-time firefighters that would start in April with next year's budget. They presented this to Shoreview's City Council and they were very receptive. LJFD understands that cities have a lot of other things to deal with but they are running out of solutions. This is a step they need to take. Councilmember Rousseau appreciates the information. She understands a job at Target can start at $18-$20/per hour. So paying $21 for a high -risk profession seems like a good deal to her. She thought raising part-time pay may be beneficial. Pensions are enticing. She appreciates that they