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Council to consider allowing five 'float' fire positions so department can pre-hire ahead of vacancies
Summary
The city’s staffing document would be amended to add five authorized 'float' positions for the fire department to permit hiring before known vacancies occur; staff said the change has no immediate budget impact but must be managed to stay within personnel appropriations.
City staff and Chief Matthew told the South Ogden City Council they will propose amending the city’s adopted staffing document to add five authorized, unfunded “float” positions for the fire department so the department can offer jobs to candidates before an incumbent has formally vacated a post.
Chief Matthew explained the change is intended to allow the department to hire quickly when high‑quality candidates appear and to avoid losing applicants to competing departments. He gave an example of a candidate who was interviewing elsewhere and said, "I wanted to grab this person while we could and offer him a job before we lost him to another department." He said the city can perform pre‑hire screenings and on‑boarding steps but cannot begin paying a newly hired employee until the city is within its authorized personnel count. The float positions would allow the chief to extend offers while staying within annual personnel authorizations, with the expectation the chief will manage personnel spending to remain within the approved budget.
Staff told councilors the proposal has no immediate budgetary effect because the positions are not separately funded; if the department fills those positions and expenditures exceed personnel line items, the chief will be responsible for managing offsets within departmental budgets. The presenter noted the police department has used a similar authorization for several years.
Council members asked why a practical hiring workaround would require council authorization rather than delaying execution of employment documents until a resignation is final. Chief Matthew and staff said the change provides nimbleness in a competitive labor market and reduces training‑related service gaps that arise when vacancies and training academies overlap.
This staffing amendment was presented for council consideration and is scheduled for action at the next regular meeting; no council vote occurred at the work session.
