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Suamico fire chief outlines staffing study; board discusses paced hires and grant risks
Summary
Chief Burtler presented a 2024 fire-department staffing study recommending recruitment/retention of on-call personnel, grant-seeking for EMS offset, and promoting part‑time firefighters to full‑time over 1–3 years; trustees asked for cost estimates and discussed levy and maintenance‑of‑effort constraints.
Chief Burtler presented an update to Suamico’s 2019 staffing model, recommending focused recruitment and retention of on‑call personnel, pursuing grants to offset EMS costs, and promoting up to two part‑time firefighters toward full‑time status over the next one to three years to reach a 2‑in, 2‑out staffing standard.
Trustees voiced caution about immediately hiring two full‑time positions at once. Trustee Eckert suggested adding one full‑time position per year and emphasized concerns that grant‑funded positions can create long‑term budget obligations when grant funding ends. Chief Burtler and trustees agreed the village should use an incremental approach tied to budget capacity and levy limits; staff noted the state’s maintenance‑of‑effort rules could reduce shared revenue if fire expenditures decline year to year.
Board members requested that future presentations include specific cost estimates and show the three‑ and five‑year staffing and budget impacts to help the board evaluate hiring timelines during annual budget planning.
