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Brentwood approves move from stipend to per-diem coverage to bolster overnight ambulance staffing
Summary
After extended public comment and presentation by the chief and incoming firefighter Roy Olson, the Brentwood board approved converting stipend coverage to per-diem pay and allocating $95,300 from this year's budget to start overnight station coverage, with additional 2026 costs to be addressed in next year's budget.
Brentwood Town officials voted to replace overnight stipend coverage with per-diem staffing and to use savings in the current budget to start the program this year.
The change, approved during the April 1 meeting, moves emergency medical coverage away from a small stipend model that the fire chief and visiting first responders said has become increasingly unreliable. The board voted in favor of "eliminat[ing] the stipend coverage and change it to per diem coverage," a motion made and seconded during the meeting and approved by voice vote.
The chief told the board the department has budgeted $95,309 for 2025 to support the new schedule and estimated the ongoing cost for 2026 at about $98,616, which would need to be placed in the 2026 budget. "I myself, I haven't come up with a way to allocate for it," the chief said, characterizing the shift as an ongoing, multi-year process to stabilize staffing.
Roy Olson, who the board was told will start with the department on April 14, described regional practice and staffing challenges. "Back in 02/2015, I created the premium, call force ... We have 3 per diem on 24/7 and it takes about 5 per diem members for 1 24-hour shift," Olson said, describing the difficulty of filling around-the-clock coverage with per-diem staff.
Public commenters and board members pressed on response times and mutual-aid impacts. Melissa Litchfield, a resident, noted pending state legislation: "This legislation provides that not more than 1 emergency medical care provider shall be required to provide care to a patient during transport," and said the change could affect rural staffing flexibility.
A board member, John, described a family emergency in which the town could not marshal an immediate ambulance, saying the family "had to get back in the car and drive all the way to Exeter Firehouse" to get help. The chief and others said relying on mutual aid regularly burdens neighboring departments and can increase response times.
Board members discussed longer-term staffing goals. The chief said the department's long-term target for safe daily coverage would be about five personnel per shift (two to cover an ambulance and three to staff an engine), but acknowledged that is a multi-year goal.
The board approved the change on a voice vote. The chief said the department will reallocate funds within the 2025 budget to cover the $95,309 cost this year, and the additional $98,616 would need to be included in the 2026 budget process.
The board opened the proposal to public comment and heard questions about radios, benefits for per-diem staff and mutual-aid statistics; speakers said some towns have increased budgets substantially to maintain two-person night coverage.
What's next: The chief and town staff will implement the per-diem coverage this year using reallocated 2025 funds and will present budget language for 2026 that reflects the higher ongoing cost. The board recorded the vote to make the change and moved on to other agenda items.
