The City of Marysville is lowering standards for some firefighters in hopes to be able to recruit more of them.
At Monday night’s finance committee meeting, the group heard plans to increase the pay from $15 to $17.50 per hour for part-time firefighters with an EMT-Paramedic certification. Members also heard about a desire to create an option to pay part-time firefighters with an EMT-Basic certification $15 per hour.
In the past, all firefighters, full- or part-time were required to have the EMT-Paramedic (EMT-P) certification.
Marysville Fire Chief Jay Riley said it is increasingly more difficult to find and hire part-time firefighters.
“Right now, we are not able to get part-time paramedics to work,” Riley said.
He said that by lowering the standard and allowing part-time firefighters with an EMT-Basic (EMT-B) certification, it expands the pool of eligible applicants. Riley said there is currently a good, part-time applicant with EMT-B training that meets all of the other qualifications. Without the change, that candidate would not be eligible.
EMT-B certification is the entry-level EMT certification. EMT-Bs are trained in basic life support, CPR and first-aid. To give medication, intubate or provide advanced life support or use much of the technology on an ambulance, an EMT must have the paramedic training and certification.
Riley said he has requested funding for full-time firefighters from the finance committee and city council for several years, but has not been able to get full-time positions filled.
The chief said his department does not have the funding to use full-time officers, which cost about $100,000 per year when salary and benefits are combined. He said that even with paying for overtime, part-time officers cost the city less overall than hiring full-time positions.
He said several years ago there was an agreement to have at least three part-time firefighters per shift. It was reduced to two part-time officers, “but we have never been able to fill that.”
Human Resources Director Brian Dostanko said the city is “perpetually” recruiting part-time officers.
Riley said the city rotates through 20-25 part-time firefighters a year.
“We are always four to five people down, so it is a revolving door,” he said.
After the meeting, Riley explained that part-time officers usually work two or three part-time jobs, looking for a full-time position. Once hired full-time somewhere, they will drop their part-time jobs.
Riley said that if funding were not an obstacle, he would eliminate or significantly reduce the part-time positions and hire about six full-time firefighters.
“There really haven’t been any general fund hires for the last several years,” Riley said. “Council is being fiscally conservative, which is good, and we are just waiting on a turn.”
The finance committee also moved to sponsor a budget change that would provide mental health support for police officers and potentially firefighters in the city.
The committee moved to sponsor a supplemental appropriation of $10,000 to hire Dr. Mark Querry, a clinical and forensic psychologist, to provide a “Psychological First-Aid” program for the city’s police officers and staff.
“It is well known the line of duty demands, challenges and procedures in law enforcement throughout the U.S. are evolving rapidly, requiring officers and law enforcement personnel to perpetually respond and adapt to the demands and expectations put on them,” Police Chief Floyd Golden said Monday.
He said the chronic stress of working in law enforcement takes a toll on the mental health of officers.
“Chronic stress, as well as acute stress from traumatic incidents, if not addressed, can be deteriorating, demoralizing and deflating to one’s sense of worthiness and placing one at risk for negative emotions and attitudes as well as burnout and suicidal ideations,” Golden said.
He cited FBI statistics indicate that through Dec. 10, nationwide, 162 law enforcement officers committed suicide in 2020, compared to 44 killed intentionally by others and 45 killed by accident. In 2019, there were 239 law enforcement suicides with 40 officers intentionally killed and 37 killed by accident.
Golden explained that with the Psychological First-Aid program, employees of the police department would sit down with Querry twice a year.
“They will be required to do it the way they would be required to go to any other training, but they cannot be required to say anything while they are there,” Golden said, though he explained the officers will get out of the program what they put into it.
Members of the finance committee asked if Querry could do an evaluation and create a report for his visits.
Dostanko said Querry will not be conducting an evaluation on those he meets with, rather he will give them an opportunity to talk and relieve some steam. He said it would be difficult to create a metric to measure the mental health of individuals or the organization.
“If you are stress-free and happier, you are going to do a better job,” Golden said.
Dostanko said that if police department officials find the program helpful, there could be a request to expand it to include firefighters and EMTs in the city.
Dostanko said the city received more than $640,000 last year as a refund from the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation. He said funding for the program could be taken from that money.
Finance committee members did question how the program could be funded in the future.