Roselle fire chief seeks to hire six firefighters/paramedics, reduce contract staff

The Roselle fire chief proposes hiring six full-time firefighters/paramedics at an added cost of $305,000 to cut down on staff turnover and reduce use of contract employees.

The village board and Roselle Fire Chief Mark Bozik on Monday discussed the hiring proposal and renegotiating the village's contract with Metro Paramedic Services Inc. to reduce reliance on Metro's staff.

Bozik said the fire department's turnover rate for Metro contractual employees is high because of higher wages elsewhere.

"The high volume of turnover is what really hurts us," Bozik said.

The Roselle Fire Department has three full-time employees, three contracted through Metro, and three part-time staffers on duty per shift.

Overall, the department employs three battalion chiefs who are responsible for managing daily operations, 11 full-time firefighters/paramedics, 15 part-time firefighters/paramedics and one contract EMS coordinator, Bozik said.

Seventy-five percent of the calls the department gets are for paramedic services, and many of the staff members are in the process of being cross trained as paramedics and firefighters, Bozik said. Comprehensive training to be a firefighter, paramedic and vehicle operator in the department takes 12 to 18 months.

Currently, Metro is contracted to provide nine employees, but is only providing six.

Bozik said the shortage of paramedics results from increased educational requirements to become a paramedic, increased competition from hospitals using paramedics, a shortage of paramedic applicants, and pay and benefit disparity between fire department and contractual employers. Starting pay for Metro employees in the village is about $45,000 a year based on a 53-hour workweek, and most leave within the first 12 months of their contract.

Metro vice president Mike Tillman said paramedics placed in Roselle start at $13.79 an hour, compared to $15 or $16 an hour in nearby towns.

According to Bozik, 28 Metro paramedics have left their contracts since Jan. 1, 2019, with 20 hired by other departments, four being terminated and four becoming full-time employees.

"For us, this is not an effective way to do business," Bozik said.

Bozik proposes hiring six full-time employees and eliminating six Metro contracted positions. Hiring six full-time workers would cost $793,646.40, or $132,000 per new employee, based on starting salary, pensions, and insurance costs. The first three full-time firefighters would start May 1 and the other three would begin by Jan. 1. The six Metro positions would then be phased out, saving the village $488,154.24.

Bozik said hiring full-time staff would improve department stability and training, reduce time spent on training and result in employees being more vested in working for the community.

Bozik and other village trustees do hope to continue working with Metro, however. Tillman acknowledged the lack of staff in the contractual obligation, citing the rise of minimum wage as a cause of turnover.

"The landscape for paramedics has changed dramatically over the course of three years," Tillman said. "It has been a struggle, and that's no lie."