CEDAR FALLS --- A plan to cross-train employees from other city departments as firefighters is raising the specter of a public safety issue taboo for years. In the past, firefighters and police officers fought off efforts aimed at more consolidated services.
The city's union firefighters reject the idea, saying the pilot program isn't cost-efficient and will result in substandard backups.
The story broke a week ago detailing proposals for the city to train parks, public works and police department employees as reserve firefighters.
Since then, Fire Chief Steve Mitchell has fielded calls from other communities inquiring about how they could do similar things. Leaders in the union also received calls, but those come from peers in other departments wanting to know how they can stop the idea from happening in their towns.
"We understand the city has a right to staff its department any way it wants to. But is this good public policy to have people with other duties to do in the city to be called away to do fire duties?" said Paul Schaefer, president of Cedar Falls Firefighters Local 1366.
Eight city employees are training as firefighters. Four are from the police department and three from public works. One is a parks employee. They will be required to spend 16 hours per month at the fire station, including four in training.
In return, the reserves will receive additional pay equivalent to nearly 14 percent of their salary, up to a maximum of $6,000 per year. Nearly all of the initial cross-trained employees are nonsalaried managers and will make that entire amount.
Firefighters say the program is costly. They break down the 16 hours per month and $6,000 salary to a hourly wage of $31.25, more than the fire chief makes.
But city officials say that number is deceptive. The reserve firefighters will be available to cover fires at any time during the hours they work and could be called in after hours on emergencies as well.
Reserve firefighters in salaried positions would not receive additional pay for being called in after hours. Hourly employees would be paid at overtime rates based on regular wages.
The firefighters would rather see two full-time firefighters hired rather than adding reserve firefighters. They maintain those new recruits would gain better experience and training and would always be available to make calls.
Each new hire costs the city slightly more than $56,600 in salary, insurance and pension benefits.
A reserve firefighter whose day job is as a police supervisor would make the $6,000 salary, plus a city pension contribution of $1,680. A reserve from parks or public works would have a pension contribution of $792.
Together, the eight reserves would cost the city about $57,000 in wages and benefits for their role. Equipment for each costs about $2,400, the same amount as for a full-time firefighter.
Those figures suggest the city is saving a great deal by having reserve firefighters. But union officials contend a career firefighter is assigned to train the reserves, so his salary and benefits need to be added as well, equalizing the cost.
To the city, the reserves mean many more available officers to field calls. The union feels full-time firefighters would be available more reliably and would be better trained.
"It's a safety issue," Schaefer said.
Full-time firefighters undergo 20 hours of training per month. In addition, union firefighters say the day-to-day experience offers immeasurable value that a reserve only at the station a couple of days a month simply cannot gain.
"The job is simply so diverse, you can't become proficient with a fraction of the training and experience," firefighter Scott Dix said.
Mitchell noted the reserve officers will receive double the amount of annual training required by law.
Councilman Tom Hagarty supports the idea as a way to help get more firefighters to emergency scenes and to bolster the number of citizen volunteers already serving with the fire department.
"We're trying to be creative. We've asked our managers to come up with creative methods," Hagarty said.
The city sought and gained approval from the Public Employees Relations Board before starting the two-year pilot program.
"It's a unique, first-of-its-kind type of a program to supplement the firefighters we have," Hagarty said.
Mitchell said the program has drawn interest from city managers and mayors from across the state.
"This will be a union issue statewide," he added.
Mitchell thinks some cities will seek use of reserve firefighters in a larger role than in Cedar Falls.
"The Cedar Falls model is designed to supplement current staff. I think you will see cities try to use that to replace their current staff," he said. "We've made real clear in our model that it is supplementing the career firefighter staff."
Still, career firefighters would rather see additional full-time firefighters join their ranks.
"I think the citizens deserve better," Schaefer said.
