HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.E. Approval of Fire Officer Stipend & Firefighter Pay 4 ROSEN4OUN 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CITY COUNCIL.
City Council Work Session: January 11, 2012
AGENDA ITEM: Approval of Fire Officer Stipend.& AGENDA SECTION:
Firefighter Pay Discussion
PREPARED BY: Dwight Johnson, City Administrator &
Emmy Foster, Assistant City AGENDA NO. 2 t
Administrator
ATTACHMENTS: Informational Documents 1, 2 & 3 APPROVED BY: 0.0.J
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion
BACKGROUND
The City of Rosemount operates a paid on -call "volunteer" Fire Department. Firefighters receive $2 per
call and per drill, in addition to an annual pension contribution into the Fire Relief Association. The
Firefighter call wage was approved at the Council's December 18, 2001 meeting. The Fire Relief
Association pension benefit level was last adjusted at the December 18, 2007 City Council meeting.
Officers of the Department receive an annual stipend. The Fire Officer Stipend pay was last approved at
the February 21, 2006 City Council meeting.
Increasing Firefighter pay, including the Officers' stipends, was proposed to the City Councifas part of the
2012 budget process in the amount of $67,000. The following was presented in the December 6 2011
budget memo to the City Council:
The current very low cost of our paid -on -call Fire Department (2nd lowest cost per capita
expenditure among 225 cities compared by the State Auditor) is not sustainable. While we believe
our fire pension is reasonably competitive, our pay for calls and our support for the management
capacity of the department are well under other area departments. A recent survey showed that no
other department pays less than $10 per hour, while our pay is currently $2 per call. While most of
our calls are one hour or less, a few calls such as a house fire can last many hours. On the
management side, we are the only area department with no full -time staff. The current combined
stipends of all of our officers, including the Chief, Assistant Chief, four Captains, four Lieutenants,
two Training Officers and the Secretary is les "s than $25,000. Meanwhile, the complexity of
managing a modern Fire Department keeps increasing over time. The ISO update of our Fire
Insurance Rating last month took many hours of work. The task of buying the new pumper truck
also took many hours. Our east Rosemount industrial base requires us to train on many different
types of hazards. Medical calls keep increasing. Recruiting new firefighters is an ongoing effort, and
we have not yet met our goal of having 50 firefighters after Station 2 was opened. While there is no
specific proposal to offer at this writing, the 2012 budget proposes to allocate $67,000 for improving
the pay of firefighters and building our Fire Department management capacity. If this proposal
eventually forestalls by even one year the need to hire full-time professional firefighters such as
several other area cities, it will be a good investment.
Considering these factors, the goal of improving the pay of Firefighters and building our Fire Department's
management capacity is important. Accordingly, money was budgeted for 2012 to cover the cost of
increased wages,to the Fire Department. Staff would like to bring forward a possible scenario for Council
consideration to increase both the stipends for the Officers as well as the pay for the Firefighters. The
following items were considered in developing this proposal: external comparisons, increased duties and
responsibilities, and the fact that these positions have not been reviewed for at least 5 years.
The proposed amounts are based on a number of factors including comparing other similar sized
communities with paid -on -call personnel, amount of time spent in`designated Officer roles, levels of
responsibility and actual duties. The proposed increases are in two categories: Fire Officer Stipends and
Firefighter Wages.
Fire Officer Stipend
Staff is bringing 'forward a request to consider increasing Fire Officer Stipends. These positions are difficult
to compare with other communities because of the - unique make -up of each fire department. Only a few
departments in communities of our size still have a volunteer /part -time Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief.
Each of the Officers has a unique set of responsibilities that have evolved to cover all of the areas in a paid -
on call volunteer Fire Department. These Officers support the operations in specific areas that benefit the
entire Department and community.
The amount that an Officer receives for a stipend depends on his /her level of responsibility, type of duties,
and a review of the amount of time spent accomplishing the duties beyond that of a Firefighter.
The requested amount roughly maintains the same proportion among Officer stipends as currently exists.
The exact amounts are proposed in Attachment 1.
Firefighter Pay
In 2002, the Council approved a request by Firefighters to change their pay format with the "salary savings
put into their Relief Association pensions instead. The per -call amount was decreased from $8.25 /per hour
for calls 'to $2 /per call. Training pay was reduced from $6 /per hour to $2 /per drill. Based on the number
of calls and salary savings, the amount of $100,000 was re- allocated to the Fire Relief Association.
Staff has gathered information from 14 other communities with a comparable population base that still
utilize paid on -call firefighters. The average pay for these firefighters is $12 per hour. (Attachment 2).
Currently the City's Fire Pension benefit is $6,900 per year of service, which is 23% more than the average
of comparison cities of similar size. Even considering the higher pension, total Rosemount Fire
Department compensation is still considerably less than other similarly sized cities. (Attachment 3).
Nothing in the December 18, 2001 meeting memo indicated at what point Fire Department compensation
would be revisited. For 2012, Staff recommends that the per call and per drill amounts be increased to
$6.00. Staff's calculation is that today's proposed increase would get the Rosemount Fire Department to
approximately 50% of parity with other departments for Firefighter pay.
Fire Relief Contribution
For 2002, Fire Department personnel requested that a greater share of their compensation be placed into
the Fire Relief Association for retirement purposes rather than taking more pay per hour or call. From that
point forward the annual increases were put into the Fire Relief Association rather than increasing the pay
per hour or call. The City contribution for the relief association has been increased by approximately 3%
each year. It is Staff's understanding is that this was agreed upon by City Administration and the Fire Relief
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Association at that time. Listed are the contributions since 1998:
2012: $171,000
2011: $166,000
2010: $161,200
2009: $156,500
2008: $1'52,000
2007: $147,600
2006: $143,300
2005: $139,000
2004: $135,000
2003: $135,000
2002: $130,000
(amount increased through C ouncil action)
2001: $26,000
2000: $26,000
1999: $26,000
1998: $26,000
Originally, the Fire Relief Association was following a 12 -year plan in order to move Rosemount to the
maximum benefit for firefighters at that time ($7,500). Each year the Relief Association evaluates its benefit
increase based on investment gains or losses, contributions from the City, and Minnesota state aid money.
Due to the major, prolonged recession, the pension benefit has not climbed in over four years despite
additional contributions.
Summary of Recommendations
Staff considers it likely that the Fire Department will need additional resources in the future in the form of
full -time staff, duty crews, or additional pay. While this is an issue that needs to continue to be reviewed to
make sure the Fire Department continues to be viable in the future, the recommendations are a good first
step.
At this time, Staff recommends the following:
1. Increase the per call and per drill (training) amounts from $2.00 to $6.00 effective January 1, 2012.
2. Increase the Officer Stipends as indicated in Attachment 1 effective January 1, 2012.
3. Continue to monitor the overall resources needed for the Fite Department to maintain its
effectiveness in the future.
If City Council agrees to the recommendation, staff will bring the item to a future City Council meeting for
approval.
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FIRE COMPENSATION
2012
Attachment
Alternative
Number Current Total Proposed Total
Chief 1 9,300 9,300 14,500 14,500
Assistant Chief 1 4,850 4,850 7,400 7,400
Captains 4 950 3,800 1,500 6,000
Lieutenants 4 400 1,600 600 2,400
Training Assistants 2 400 800 600 1,200
Fire Education 2 188 375 600 1,200
Secretary 1 2,200 2,200 3,000 3,000
SOT Members 2 1,000 2,000 1,100 2,200
Firefighters 13,546 2.00 27,092 6.00 81,276
Grand Total 55,000 119,176
Increase 64,176
Total # Stipends
2009 = 13,256
2010 = 12,385
2011= 13,546
Attachment 2 .
Paid On -Call Firefighter
Pension Benefit Per Year
Organization Population' Pay per Hour of Service FT Chief?
Andover 31,298 13.86 didn't respond accordingly
f
Chanhassen 23,629 9.00 5,050 no
Columbia Heights 18,361 12.84 didn't respond accordingly yes & AC
Cottage Grove 34,000 11.00 3,600 yes
Farmington 21,086 10.21 4,575 no
Golden Valley 20,371 14.40 6,700 yes
Hastings 22,491 13.00 4,000 yes & AC
Hopkins 17,290 1111WW11111 7,000 MEM
Inver Grove Heights 33,600 11.50 5,800 yes & AC
New Brighton 22,321 11111121M. 5,600 yes (PSD)
Prior Lake 23,335 11.00 6,500 yes
Ramsey 23,272 12.88 didn't respond accordingly yes
Rosemount . ,847 2 per call '6,900 ° no
Shakopee 37,000 10.00 7,500 yes
Stillwater 18,2351111MEMI 5,000 yes
Average $12.00 $5,575
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