Louisville, OH Chief Asks for More Money to Retain Firefighters

LOUISVILLE - Chief Rod Bordner is telling city elected officials his crew of firefighters and paramedics sincerely want to perform their jobs.

But for them to continue responding to fires, traffic wrecks and medical emergencies, it's going to require additional job incentives and better perks, according to Bordner.

Bordner has watched crew members leave in recent years to take jobs with other departments where there are lucrative packages, such as pensions in retirement, vacation pay and paid sick days. Louisville doesn't offer those benefits and it's hurting the department's retention ability.

"It is human nature to go someplace to get a job where you can provide for your family and get a pension," Bordner said at a recent City Council work session. "We can't afford not to do anything. We are talking about the safety of our citizens. We are talking about the safety of our firefighters. There is no retirement in place except for Social Security. They could go to another fire department and get a full range of benefits."

It's a common problem in some municipalities that struggle to keep their safety forces fully staffed and equipped when funding is tight.

Bordner presented city officials with four different proposed staffing solutions. All would cost the city additional money.

During the previous year, the city spent $458,540 in personnel costs for the department. This includes Bordner's salary, plus pay for firefighters and paramedics while they are on active duty or responding from home to emergency calls.

"Our fire department is volunteer," City Councilman Rick Flory said. "We only have one full-time employee and that is the chief."

The proposals

Under Bordner's first proposal, the city would staff the fire station with four crew members 24 hours a day. That would cost Louisville a projected $1.17 million a year.

However, "we do not have sleeping quarters for that," Bordner acknowledged.

The second proposal would be staffing the station with four people, two of them working 24-hour shifts and the other two being paid to work from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. This scenario would cost Louisville a projected $1.01 million a year.

Bordner's third option would be having three crew members paid to stay at the station 24 hours a day. Projected cost is $961,122 a year.

The fourth proposal would have two crew members stay at the station 24 hours day. This would cost the city $700,148 a year in personnel cost. The fourth proposal is similar to how the Fire Department currently operates except the two crew members who stay at the station now for 24-hour shifts are paid their regular wage rate for 16 of those hours. They receive a $20 stipend for the other eight hours.

Under all four options, there would be a need to hire from outside to fulfill Bordner's staffing plans.

"We have enough turnout gear right now for anyone we would bring on the department," the chief said.

City leaders: We can't afford this

City Councilman Rick Flory made it clear Louisville cannot afford the proposals given the city's current financial situation.

"It would take some sort of additional funding that we currently don't have," Flory said. "Right now, in my opinion, I don't think we can afford this out of our budget right now. Council is not looking at putting a (tax) levy on the ballot at this time."

The city currently has a 2 percent income tax. And 75 percent of the income tax revenue supports the city general fund. One recipient of general fund revenue is the Fire Department. The other 25 percent of the income tax pays for municipal water and sewer capital projects.

Bordner tallied up how many firefighters and paramedics resigned from his force over the past four years. So far this year, two have left. In 2017, four resigned. And five resigned in both 2016 and 2015.

"We have people come and go," Bordner said. "Right now our roster has 17 people, and that includes me. My roster used to be around 23. This is the lowest our roster has ever been. We are training the people that we have and they are leaving for full-time positions. We have minimum manning for second- and third-shift calls."

The issue is not unique to Louisville, according to an official with the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association.

"As a previous fire chief, that is not uncommon," said Bill Houk, president of the state association. "The fire department or its governing board is only able to do what their voters allow them to do. It sounds like a case where they may need to raise wages or benefits. They probably need to do some type of study or evaluation."

Houk had been chief of a township fire department in Madison County in central Ohio.

More dialogue

To support themselves, some fire members also work for other departments.

"I know that some of them also work for private ambulance (companies) or other entities," City Manager E. Thomas Ault said.

The recent council work session represented city officials' early phase to assess the Fire Department problem and work on a solution.

"We have had some issues with staffing," Councilman Corey Street said. "We just want to start a dialogue on what it would take to stabilize our department. We are trying to find a solution to our staffing problem. The problem is turnover rate. We want to solve the problem. We want to work with all the guys to solve the problem."

Louisville, a city of about 9,180 residents, is surrounded by Nimishillen Township, which also has a fire department. However, Bordner did not suggest the possibility of uniting with the township department.

"I think both Nimishillen Township and the city should take a look at forming a fire district," Councilman Richard Guiley said. "I don't know if that can be done. I am very open to looking at that. We are struggling with being able to retain our firefighters and EMS (emergency medical service) people. Other jurisdictions are willing to offer them more hours and better benefits."

Reach Malcolm at 330-580-8305

or [email protected]

On Twitter: mhallREP

———

Visit The Repository, Canton, Ohio at www.cantonrep.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.