20-RANK NAME CHANGES AND ADDITION OF THREE DRIVER ENGINEERS

Home Browse Search

Item No. 20. Me�no�andum TO: City Council John Godwin, City Manager FROM: Larry Wright, Fire Chief SUBJECT: RANK NAME CHANGES AND THE ADDITION OF THREE DRIVER ENGINEERS. DATE: January 30, 2013 BACKGROUND: When the Fire Department was formed in 1908 as a full time Department, the Firefighters were assigned the titles of Engineer for the person in charge and Fire Driver for the person who drove the team of horses. These titles have been used ever since, even after motorized equipment began being utilized and are listed as such in the Local Rules of the City of Paris Civil Service Commission. These particular names are no longer recognized in the Fire Service and making it difficult to compare job responsibilities, pay scales, etc. with other Fire Departments. I am requesting title changes to reflect the current titles used by all Fire Departments. I request that the title of Engineer be changed to Fire Captain and that the title of Fire Driver be changed to Driver Engineer. In addition, the Fire Department lacks enough Driver Engineer positions to staff all apparatus with one Driver Engineer. Currently we are requiring a Firefighter to "step-up" to a Driver Engineer position without compensation for the responsibilities associated with that position. To eliminate this disparity and to compensate that person for the increased responsibility of driving, pumping and maintaining an apparatus, I am requesting that we be allowed to create and test for three additional Driver Engineers to fulfill that position on every apparatus. These positions would be taken from the ranks of the existing Firefighters with no additional hiring needed. STATUS OF ISSUE: On January 30, 2013, the Civil Service Commission approved the title changes as mentioned above. If approved by City Council, these changes will go into effect on the dates noted in the Ordinance and, if approved by City Council, a test date will be posted for a Driver Engineer exam. BUDGET: No budget increase will be required for either change. The cost increase to promote three Driver Engineers from the rank of Firefighter will cost an additional $1700.00 to $2,000.00 which can be absorbed in the current budget. RECOMMENDATION: Approve the ordinance allowing for the title changes and the promotion of three current frefighters to the rank of Driver Engineer.