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Special City Council Meeting Thursday,July 18, 2013 Page 7 ment, thorough background check, a full day psychological evaluation, physical agility test, and drug screening. Chief O'Neill noted that this was all before their first day of employment with the department; and advised that an average of 40% of those didn't make it through that initial process. Given the requirements and challenges of the job, Chief O'Neill opined that it was difficult for him to com- pare those jobs with other jobs in the City or area at that wage level that didn't re- quire a considerable amount of knowledge, certifications and other components, with many of those jobs starting at even higher wages. Chief O'Neill advised that there was significant competition to hire quality people you want for firefighters due to the potential hazards faced; noting that most of those currently attracted to a firefighter position were looking at it as a long-term and full-time career. Based on this discussion so far, Councilmember McGehee opined that the current option was not working and therefore needed revamped. Interim City Manager Trudgeon observed that, during that training, it wasn't just a financial burden to the City, but that the City also received services from that firefighter in training, and as they became certified, Roseville residents also re- ceived the benefit. Councilmember Willmus requested a comparison with other municipal fire de- partments that are part-time based for discussions going forward. Chief O'Neill advised that wage comparisons were readily available, with the completion of a metropolitan-wide comparison completed in May of 2013; and advised that he would immediately send an electronic copy to Councilmembers. In an attempt to get some commitment or buy-in by the employee, Mayor Roe questioned the validity of an option that would increase the starting wage and ask the employee to reimburse the City for the cost of training that would net out. At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Chief O'Neill reviewed the time commitment for part-time firefighter training to the employee: Year 1 and 2 re- quired school attendance for one (1) night/week; to work one (1) shift/week, re- spond to any callbacks for larger fires and any multi-company trainings held; with new recruits putting in 800 hours annually in their first three (3) years. Upon completion of training, Chief O'Neill advised that the commitment level could shrink with the department requiring 180 hours of shift work every six (6) months, in addition to attending 30% of callbacks and multi-company training, of 400 hours per year. Chief O'Neill advised that many of the City's current fire- fighters work in excess of 2,300 to 2,400 hours per year. At this point, Chief O'Neill identified Option #2 (page 3) and providing health care, PTO and holiday benefits to those qualifying as the best method, noting that for 2014, there would only be six (6) firefighters qualifying for health care at an