Roselle Fire Department to hire more full-time firefighter/paramedics

The village of Roselle will hire six new full-time firefighter/paramedics and boost starting pay for existing contractors to reduce turnover and reliance on contract services.

The village board on Monday unanimously approved a new agreement between the Roselle Fire Department and Metro Paramedic Services Inc. to reduce staff provided by the company and fund the new positions.

Hiring six full-time workers would cost the village nearly $794,000, or about $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 next three would begin by Jan. 1, 2022. The six Metro positions would be phased out, saving the village more than $488,000.

Current starting pay for Metro employees in the village is about $45,000 a year based on a 53-hour workweek. The new agreement will increase that to $53,248 by May 1 and include a roughly 15% increase over a two-year period - to $58,572 by Jan. 1, 2022 and $61,501 by Jan. 1, 2023.

Fire Chief Mark Bozik said the costs are being absorbed into the department's operations budget. The eligible candidates have been trained and being processed.

Metro's paramedic services had been providing six paramedics rather than the nine in its contract with the village due to a shortage of paramedics locally and nationwide that has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Jan. 1, 2022, there could be a reduction to three based on what the village and Metro decide in July when renegotiating the full contract. The village still hopes to use Metro paramedics as additional emergency staff.

Bozik said the wage increase could help the department attract more staff.

"This is good for the village and helps our ability to save lives in the community," he said.

Bozik said the paramedic shortage results from increased educational requirements, increased competition from hospitals using paramedics, a shortage of paramedic applicants, and pay and benefit disparity between fire department and contractual employers.

He said most Metro paramedics leave within the first 12 months of their contract - 28 have left since Jan. 1, 2019, with 20 hired by other departments, four were terminated and four became full-time employees.

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