Port’s search for a paramedic stymied again

The search for a full-time paramedic for the Port Washington Fire Department appears to have hit another speed bump.

Fire Chief Mark Mitchell told the Police and Fire Commission Monday that because they eliminated firefighting duties from the position, the new employee would be eligible for overtime.

“That’s not in the budget,” Mitchell said, noting that overtime would add up quickly given the anticipated schedule for the position.

“This is budgeted already. The salary is fixed.”

Firefighters are exempt from the overtime requirement, he said, and he had assumed that paramedics are as well.

That’s not the case, he said, noting the Mequon fire chief told him about the overtime rule because he had run up against it himself.

But the idea of changing the job description and trying to hire a firefighter/paramedic again to get around the overtime rule frustrated the commission.

“I want you to have the best people to do the job,” commission member Jennifer Clearwater told Mitchell. “But if we go back to that and can’t recruit anyone, we’re back at square one. We just keep tossing this ball back and forth.” 

“Is this going to be a difficult position to fill again?” commission member Jim Biever asked.

“We’ll throw it out there and see what we get (for applicants),” Mitchell said.

The department hasn’t had many applicants for the firefighter/paramedic position in the past, and the two people it hired last year both resigned shortly after starting work.

“Now we’re going back to a model that’s not working,” commission member Ed Johnson said. 

He asked if the amount of overtime pay that the paramedic would receive could be covered by unspent money left in this year’s budget.

“Maybe that gets us through this year and we budget more properly next year,” he said.

Commission members looked at a Department of Labor handout on the overtime rule and questioned if it applies to paramedics.

“This certainly isn’t written for easy interpretation,” commission Chairman Rick Nelson said.

Commission members asked to have the rules reviewed by the city’s labor attorney to ensure they are interpreting it correctly. 

The situation underscores the need for the city to hire three full-time paramedics for the ambulance, Mitchell said.

“The only way to nip this in the bud is to get those three positions,” he said, noting the department would then have full-time coverage for the ambulance. “It’s worked for hundreds and hundreds of fire departments. You’ve got that guarantee of 24-hour coverage then.”