Council Members Look for Fire Department Savings

An update on city staffing levels at Thursday night's City Council meeting turned into a discussion of whether the city can save money by replacing retiring firefighters with lower-paid EMTs.

After hearing that the city had recently approved two hires in the Fire Department (to fill vacancies from one recent retirement and two pending), Councilman Keith Hartzell suggested the city could save substantially without disrupting service by hiring emergency medical technicians who would work for much less money than a firefighter.

The Fire Department is currently made up of three platoons, each staffed by 19 firefighters and one EMT. Two administrators bring the entire staff to 62.

Hartzell suggested on Thursday that the department actually includes nine employees dedicated to EMT work: the three EMTs and six firefighters with EMT certification.

Hartzell said that because the average Ocean City firefighter makes more than $100,000 per year and the average EMT nationwide might make closer to $40,000 per year, the city could save $60,000 apiece on six new replacement hires as they arise.

He asked Mayor Jay Gillian's administration to consider the idea and within a month make a recommendation on whether or not it could work.

Hartzell's estimation of average firefighter salary is based on current staffing costs. The city spends $6,401,000 for regular wages, overtime and FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) payments to 59 firefighters (including deputies and the chief), an average of $108,492.

That average does not reflect the cost of hiring a new firefighter, who would likely start with a base salary in the $40,000s and work under new contracts with less-generous increases than the ones veteran firefighters worked under for years.

Hartzell called the Fire Department's emergency response time "incredible" and said it would be unaffected by his proposal.

"There's a huge cost savings, and the time is now," Hartzell said. "I'd like the administration to step up the effort and look at that model now."

Councilman Scott Ping said he was disappointed that the administration did not discuss the two recent replacement hires without first discussing them with City Council.

"I just don't understand why we would do business as usual just because the money is there," Ping said.

Ping suggested that Ocean City firefighters are among the highest paid in the nation and that a young pediatrician might wish for their salaries. And he said that elected officials afraid to take on "the gorilla in the corner" are partly to blame.

"The unions have gotten so strong that politically they're 'no touch,' " Ping said. "Most people don't have the stones."

But he said the downside of letting costs go unchecked are departments "decimated" by emergency staffing cuts.

Ocean City Finance Director Frank Donato said that cost savings may not be as simple as hiring EMTs under the current model for staffing and schedules. He said overtime costs have risen dramatically when the department is short-staffed.

The discussion of the Fire Department comes amid a vow by City Council to make budgeting a year-round process.

Donato made a report to council that showed a current staffing level of 253 employees in 2011, down from 261 in 2010 and 291 in 2004.