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Peoria Heights trustees debate hiring three full‑time firefighters as volunteers' availability and stipend costs rise
Summary
Trustees and the fire chief sparred over a prior authorization to hire three full‑time firefighters, with staff saying those hires plus benefits would add roughly $340,000–$380,000 annually while stipend/coverage alternatives could cost a similar amount; members asked for a pause and more data before final hires.
Peoria Heights — Trustees spent much of a special meeting debating whether to proceed with hiring three full‑time firefighters the board previously authorized, or to rely on higher stipends and volunteer coverage to manage staffing while preserving budget flexibility.
Clerk Stephanie Turner provided cost analysis showing an increase in fire‑related spending of roughly $293,000 over the prior nine months, which staff annualized to approximately $400,000. Turner told the board her estimate for salaries, benefits and related costs for a full‑time chief and three firefighters was about $340,000 for a year; stipend costs to cover shifts (at an increased daily rate) could reach approximately $165,000–$330,000 depending on coverage assumptions.
Trustees raised concerns that adding recurring full‑time payroll and pension costs could exacerbate the general fund deficit and leave the village unable to sustain staffing in future downturns. Trustee Weisenberg urged caution: "I would hate to see us dive into this and then in two years ... we have to lay them off because we can't afford to pay them." The board discussed intermediate options such as hiring one or two full‑time positions instead of three or boosting stipend pay for volunteers.
Chief Decker described operational risks tied to reliance on volunteers and stipend shifts. He said the department has struggled to fill stipend shifts and that, before his arrival, dispatch records showed approximately 140 calls with no village response between January and November; he said since his arrival there have been four such incidents. "I can only give you the facts," the chief said, describing open shifts, training and certification cost increases, and the unpredictability of volunteer availability.
Trustees also noted the police and fire commission and a pending hiring timeline: preference‑point deadlines tied to the commission’s process (cited as a September‑4 preference deadline) mean that procedural steps could proceed even as trustees seek to revisit the authorization. Several trustees asked staff and the chief to prepare written scenarios showing budget, service and risk tradeoffs; one trustee said a formal agenda item should appear at the next board meeting to consider rescinding or modifying the prior hiring authorization.
No vote on firefighter hiring occurred at the special meeting. Trustee G moved to adjourn later in the session and the board approved the motion by voice vote.
