Title
An Ordinance approving Amendment No. 4 to the budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, as adopted by Ordinance No. 9441, Ordinance No. 9442, Ordinance No. 9449, Ordinance No. 9450, and Ordinance No. 9451 by amending the full time equivalent positions for the Fire Department for the City. (F&BC 10/3/22)
Body
Issue/Request:
In anticipation of the availability of revenues from the public safety sales tax approved by voters in 2022, the Fire Department has prioritized early personnel needs. The Fire Department plans to implement a new ambulance crew to improve critical emergency response times, and also add 3 personnel to the fire prevention division.
The hiring and training of personnel by the Fire Departments is a time-consuming process. Once an individual is hired, it may take up to four months (depending on training requirements, certifications, and experience) for the person to be fully implemented to active duty. As such, the Fire Department seeks to increase available full time equivalent positions to recruit and hire personnel in advance of public safety sales tax funding. The Fire Department seeks to increase authorized positions by six firefighters. These increases would allow for hiring of personnel and begin the training process prior to the availability of public safety sales tax funding.
All six positions will be funded by the public safety sales tax when available in 2023. The Fire Department does not anticipate to be able to hire these positions prior to December 2022. The Fire Department plans to fund equipment and training cost for any advanced hires out of current general fund budgets. The advanced hiring and training made available by the increase in FTE positions will provide quicker realization of programs prioritized by public safety sales tax planning process and improvement in City services.
An additional budget expansion request will outline public safety sales tax plans for the remainder of the fiscal year 202...
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