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Fire department outlines $29.83 per-diem rate, $6,779 onboarding cost and staffing gaps
Summary
Fire department presenters told the Select Board their single per-diem premium rate is $29.83/hour, the town’s 2026 per-diem budget was $19,004.95 with about $13,000 remaining, and that bringing a new per-diem hire on can cost roughly $6,779 (physical, background, gear, training).
A fire-department presenter told the Select Board the town pays a single per-diem premium rate of $29.83 an hour for all firefighter/EMT certifications and that the 2026 per-diem budget of $19,004.95 had $6,512 expended as of the meeting, leaving roughly $13,000 available.
The presenter broke down estimated onboarding costs: a physical $689, background check $40, uniforms about $250, training/familiarization and initial shifts roughly $800, for a stated total of $6,779 to put a new per-diem person into service. "So the total is $6,779 to put someone on," the presenter said, adding that if usable gear is already available that figure could fall to about $1,800.
Board members pressed on recruiting and scheduling: the department is using social media, hospital flyers, the State Fire Academy job listing and QR-coded applications. The presenters described a policy of 24-hour shifts, voluntary overtime offered to full-time staff first, then per-diems; they said overtime shift costs are roughly $1,500 for a full-time employee and $800 for a per-diem. Officials said the town currently has two active per-diem employees and that several vacancies and planned vacations have increased reliance on overtime.
