Franklin fire chief urges new hiring process as department faces staffing shortfall

Franklin Fire Chief Snyder told the Fire Merit Commission on Feb. 10 that the department will likely be one firefighter short when a lieutenant completes a medical pension and that the current eligibility list does not include enough candidates with the required certifications.

Snyder said the department requires applicants to hold Firefighter I and II, HAZMAT, EMT certifications and a CPAT qualification; many names on the existing lists lack those credentials. “So I can go on at any time and look at anybody that I know their PSID number… and we just don't have any,” Snyder said. He added that some applicants have not started the certification process at all.

The shortage has practical costs, Snyder said: the department spent more than $200,000 in overtime last year covering staffing gaps. He described the typical processing timeline for hires, including background checks and an eight-week turn-around through Public Safety Medical once a candidate is offered the job. “It's usually an 8 week turnaround from the time I send them to Public Safety until I get them started,” Snyder said.

Commissioners discussed options for addressing the pipeline. Commissioner Brian Alvey and others asked whether candidates on the list are contacted regularly; Snyder said applicants have been called multiple times and that he hired eight people in 2024, but candidates often do not complete certification requirements. Snyder proposed starting a new selection process and running two concurrent eligibility lists so the department has a larger funnel of potential hires. “If I had a full time going through the 5… then if I had an opening come available and we had 2 lists, I would start at the first list, go down through it. Then if nobody was qualified off that list, then I would go to the second list,” Snyder said.

Commissioners also raised whether the commission’s bylaws permit removing inactive candidates from the list; the commission asked staff to check legal constraints. President Kathy Stolz said the item will be added to the March agenda for public notice and formal consideration of a revised hiring process.

Snyder described other local training options that produce certified graduates — including Ivy Tech and regional academies that teach Firefighter I and II, HAZMAT and EMT — but noted age and application rules mean departments sometimes recruit from part-time or paid-standby ranks until candidates reach eligibility. He described dual-list use in prior cycles and said the current certified list will remain active while a new process is started.

The commission did not take a formal vote on a new process at the Feb. 10 meeting; members agreed to place the proposal on the March agenda for formal action and for counsel to review any legal limitations on removing names from eligibility lists.

For residents: the commission raised the potential operational impacts (overtime costs and reduced staffing) and the administrative steps that will follow (legal review and a March agenda item).