Another failed hire has Port rethinking paramedic pay

The Port Washington Police and Fire Commission will continue to advertise for a second full-time paramedic/firefighter while working with city officials to try and increase the proposed salary for the position, commission members agreed Monday.

But the decision to continue advertising the position was lengthy with some members expressing fear that advertising the post at a salary that’s been rejected by numerous candidates is futile, while others said the effort may still attract a good candidate.

Fire Chief Mark Mitchell, who had said he would advertise the position last month, told commission members that he thought he had a new employee but when the person saw the $50,000 salary he decided against taking the job.

Several commission members argued that it’s fruitless to advertise the position until the salary is increased to be competitive.

Anyone considering the job who rejects it likely won’t look at the city’s advertisements again, commission member Terry Tietyen said.

Commission Chairman Rick Nelson agreed, saying that once it’s been advertised at $50,000, “I’m not even going to look at that city anymore.”

Even if someone accepts the position, he said, they will continue looking for a more lucrative job.

“If we advertise it for even $55,000 and hire someone, I think they’ll be here a week,” Nelson said.

But commission member Ed Johnson said it’s important to keep looking, saying, “I think we’re just fiddling and Rome is burning. We need to keep looking.”

Commission member Sarah Burdette agreed, saying, “What if there’s a new person who just walked into town? I don’t see the problem in advertising the position.”

Commission members agreed to work with city officials to try to increase the salary to be more competitive, but they noted this will mean increasing the pay not just for the current post but also the existing full-time paramedic/firefighter.

They took heart, however, in the results of a recent community survey that showed people are willing to pay more to bolster emergency services in the community.

Mitchell noted that the city needs to look at the salary for not just the full-time position but the on-call positions as well.

“We’re working on every aspect of our salaries,” he said. “Our paid-on-call people are so far behind”