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In addition, the Fire Department is on record pace in responding to emergencies in 2019. As <br />call volumes are anticipated to continue to go up, it is important to note the Roseville Fire <br />Department is one of the busiest departments in the metro and the busiest when measuring calls <br />per each on-duty firefighter. Additional staff will help firefighters avoid fatigue, burn-out, and <br />potential injury by reducing the number of calls per firefighter. <br />Since addingnine new firefighters will be expensive and most of the shift of costs from part- <br />time to full-time firefighters have already been accrued, the Fire Department has looked at <br />ways to offset the costs of adding full-time firefighters. These items include: <br /> Setting fees in the appropriate amount to recapture the Fire Department’s costs to <br />provide the service. <br /> Proposing to set a new fee requiring reimbursing the Fire Department for <br />responses to vehicle accidents. (Starting in 2020) <br /> Planning to apply for grant dollars to assist in initially paying for new firefighters. <br />(For 2021 budget) <br />Given the identified needs, the Fire Department is proposing to add three full-time firefighters <br />in the 2020 budget. The Fire Department anticipates asking for three additional full-time <br />firefighters in 2021 and 2022. <br /> <br />With the addition of the new three full-time firefighters, Chief O’Neill plans to put all of them <br />on one shift. As a result, one shift will have eight firefighters, and the two other shifts will have <br />five firefighters. Having eight firefighters on one shift will allow the department to <br />demonstrate the value of having eight firefighters per shift. <br />The Fire Department has also requested the creation of Lieutenant positions that would be <br />added to the organizational structure. This will allow for an additional supervisors to the shift <br />crew that can supervise when the Battalion Chief overseeing that shift is absent. Having a <br />Lieutenant position will also allow for a more graduated leadership progression for firefighters. <br />Moving from a firefighter to a Battalion Chief in the current system is a big jump in <br />responsibility and required knowledge and skills. This request does not add new personnel to <br />the Fire Department. The Lieutenant positions would be filled by promotions of existing <br />firefighters. <br /> <br />The Fire Department’s overall request related for new spending related to staffing in the 2020 <br />budget is as follows: <br />New Full-Time Firefighters (3) $221,760* <br />Funding Fire Department Lieutenant positions (3) $ 34,430 <br /> Total $256,190 <br />*Net costs of position once part-time firefighter wages and overtime wages are factored out. <br />City Manager Recommendation –Fire Department Staffing <br />2020 Levy Impact: Increase of $221,760 <br />Page 15 of 19 <br /> <br />