2022 City of Shakopee Budget

91

Budget Impact: The fire department is consistently praised and receives high marks from citizens and citizen surveys and does so while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget. Since 2012, the Shakopee Fire Department Relief Association has not required any monetary support from the City toward the firefighter pension fund. Currently, full-time staff of four administration and four firefighters are responsible for daytime operations such as responding to calls for service, incident reporting and record-keeping, firefighter training, plan reviews, building permits, inspections, fire prevention, public education, pre-fire planning, and maintenance of equipment, vehicles, and buildings. For night and weekend coverage the department started staffing four part-time firefighters on shifts in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And, due to an overwhelming reduction in response times and increased firefighter satisfaction, we continue this practice today. In addition to responding to calls for service, these part-time shifts are tasked with completing physical training, fire department training, vehicle and fire station maintenance, pre-fire plans, and public education. Due to what was thought to be a temporary part-time staffing model, provisional resting or sleeping accommodations were arranged in the conference room at fire station 1. With the continuation of overnight staffing comes the need for a permanent solution. Staff has met with an architect and has plans in place for an addition to the fire station which is being prepared for Council approval. In addition, the department recognizes a need for appropriate supervision of these shifts. Staff analyzed numerous scenarios and determined the solution is to add three full-time supervisor positions in future years . These supervisors would be tasked with handling duties that are currently fulfilled using on-call Deputy Chiefs and the Fire Marshal. This includes responding to night and weekend calls, supervising firefighters, coordinating and executing training, fielding incoming phone calls to the fire station, and appropriately delegating other projects and assignments.

EMPLOYEES

PERCENT OF GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES

46

46

46

46

Fire Department 10.0%

0

0

0

0

Actual 2019 Actual 2020 Budget 2021 Budget 2022

Number of Employees (FTEs) Paid On Call Firefighters