The discussion was initiated by Council President Kathryn Huffman, who expressed concern about a June call for an ambulance at a home where a near-drowning occurred. An ambulance was not available, so the resident had to self-transport the child, she said.
“It is very disturbing to have a parent call 911 with a drowning and have to self-transport. The people of Tipp City are paying their taxes … funding this … I feel responsible to ask questions and make sure we are doing what we can,” Huffman said.
Council also discussed a letter about response to a garage fire on Peters Road and the homeowners’ concerns about who showed up and when. The response to a Christmas Day house fire, also in Monroe Twp., also was questioned.
“Something needs to happen right now to try to protect the citizens of Tipp City,” said Councilman Ryan Liddy. “All I am saying is something has to happen tomorrow to try to do a better job to protect the citizens.”
Council this spring approved a multi-year staffing plan to address staffing needs beginning with the hiring, likely in August, of four full-time captains. That would be followed by the hiring in subsequent years of full-time firefighters/EMTs.
Mayor Mike McFarland said the captains would already have been hired if council “hadn’t sat on this thing since the first of the year and didn’t vote it into place” until late March.
Huffman, Liddy and Joanna Pittenger voted against the plan, while McFarland, Robert Schwab, Greg Enslen and Doug Slagel voted for it.
Council previously approved more pay for part-time personnel, but Haller said the department is treading water by hiring part-timers basically to replace those who are leaving, many times for full-time positions.
A solution won’t be online “tomorrow,” but council could agree to implement the full-time staffing part of the plan faster, Haller said.
If approved, the city could seek full-time personnel possibly using a lateral transfer provision now included in the city civil service rules.
The city shares costs for the fire/EMS operation with Monroe Twp., which contracts for services with the city. The township pays 27 percent of costs, but might not be able to cover added costs if an accelerated hiring schedule is chosen as a solution, Haller and Eggleston said. That is because the township asked its voters in 2021 to approve an increased levy to cover the costs of the multi-year plan.
The city may need to cover the added costs, if council wants the staffing hired sooner.
Staffing problems are not unique to Tipp City, Haller said. “Right now, there is a local, state and nationwide shortage of firefighters/EMTs at every level. I can’t say that any more plainly,” he said.
“To keep people on duty, we need to have more full-time people as fast as we can afford it, being economically conscious of the citizens of Tipp City and their tax dollars,” Haller said. “The plan presented is economically sound and viable and … It will never be perfect, but we need a chance to implement it.”
Huffman several times mentioned changing the plan’s staffing schedule from a 24 hours on, 72 hours off format. Haller said the plan was approved by council and is the basis for recruiting/hiring and won’t be changed.
“Something needs to change,” Huffman said.
Eggleston said he understood ... “I want you to understand, too, this has been going on for a long time. This has been talked about even before you got on council as how are we going to handle this … There are a lot of things at play here that just are beyond our control. I understand you want coverage, you want all these things,” he said.
“Your options are carry out the plan; hire four full-timers, fill in with part time; be damned with the cost; and move forward.”
Eggleston said he and Haller would work on a proposal and have it to council by its next meeting Aug. 7.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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