Budget cuts from two years ago continue to affect the Jefferson City Fire Department, and the department is looking at all available options to help the situation.
In 2013, the city discovered an unexpected budget shortfall of $1.68 million, which led to a near hiring freeze and programs aimed at urging eligible city employees to retire early. The early retirement program led to the loss of three positions in the Fire Department - one training officer and two firefighters.
Chief Matt Schofield said that brought the department down to 72 employees, the same number it had in 1990. However, in 1990, the department responded to 716 calls, and last year the department responded to more than 4,700 calls.
In the last 25 years, the department also has become a first responder to medical emergencies and taken on more efforts in prevention, such as inspections.
"The industry as a whole is ramping up," Schofield said. "Because we should - that's what the community expects; that's what we want to deliver. But we're struggling to do that."
The department has applied for a SAFER grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which, if awarded, would pay for two firefighter positions with no requirement of a future commitment from the city. City staff expect a decision on the grant by Sept. 15.
"We looked for any possible solution we could find to try to help ease the cost burden of bringing those (positions) back," Schofield said.
With the loss of those two firefighter positions, Schofield said the department has had to rely more on overtime to continue what is called "constant manning," which refers to the minimum number of firefighters on duty at any given time.
Back in 2013, when the department had 75 employees, Schofield said they would have, at full capacity, 23 on-shift personnel and an assistant chief on at all times. Even with the loss of three employees, Schofield said the department has to keep a minimum of 19 on-shift personnel plus an assistant chief on at all times.
When too many people are out sick or on vacation (the department allows two people per day on vacation), the department has to call in other staff members to take over, which results in "constant manning" overtime costs, which make up about 57 percent of the department's overall overtime costs in 2014.
In 2014, the department had a total of $129,321 in overtime costs. The majority of that was to keep the department's minimum for constant manning, but the next highest category, at 21 percent, is step-up overtime, which Schofield said compensates an employee for doing a job above his or her pay grade.
"It's a pretty good program to get people acclimated to that position so that they can apply for it and eventually take on that role officially," Schofield said.
The smallest chunk of overtime costs, 10 percent, goes to call-back costs, which refers to the cost of bringing in off-duty personnel during a "confirmed significant incident" such as a major fire. The remaining 12 percent of overtime costs comes from the need for some personnel to come in during off hours for special events, meetings or training.
"We really limit that as best we can," Schofield said.
In an April 22 memo from City Administrator Steve Crowell to members of the City Council, Crowell notes speaking with Schofield about the feasibility of using part-time or volunteer firefighters to potentially fill in when constant manning is necessary.
Schofield said he was a volunteer for 18 years and while he respects and values volunteer firefighters, it may not be feasible for the department now. Because of the number of training hours needed and the time commitment involved, Schofield said it would be very difficult to achieve on a part-time or volunteer basis.
"The level of training that we expect from our folks is very difficult," Schofield said. "It's a challenge for our folks who are here a third of their life."
Division Chief Jason Turner said another issue is the department's ISO rating. The ISO, or Insurance Services Office, puts out the Public Protection Classification rating, which is the most widely used indication for determining fire insurance premiums for both homeowners and businesses.
When it comes to the ISO, Turner said, it takes three volunteers to make one full-time person, and the recruitment and training needed would be a difficult administrative task.
Also, with the loss of a training officer, the department's administrative staff also has been spread somewhat thin. Without that position, the remaining three administrative positions have had to take on the responsibilities of the training officer position.
Schofield said that position had been responsible for coordinating training, keeping records, tracking professional standards and maintaining personnel certification, coordinating fleet management, operating as health and safety officer, and overall operational administrative duties.
"We've kind of shifted responsibilities around to try to cover for the administrative position we lost," Schofield said. "That's a big gap that we're missing still."
Turner said with other administrative personnel taking on additional duties, it's hard to put the same type of effort into each one.
"Service won't suffer, but what will suffer is being able to put 100 percent into everything that we do that we want to do," Turner said. "I don't know that we're getting 100 percent into everything that we should be doing, excluding emergencies."
Turner said without a training officer, it is more difficult to simply maintain the department's current ISO rating. So many factors, from inspectors to training officers, make a difference when it comes to ISO ratings and it can be a struggle to simply keep up, he continued.
"We're struggling now to maintain," Turner said.
In the meantime, Schofield said the department is continuing to do the best it can with what's available, and working to ensure the level of service in any emergency does not decline.
"It's really hard to prioritize all the things that we know are very important," Schofield said. "We can and have done that in the short period. But long term, that is probably not sustainable."