Bill Coleman
Scandia Area ReporterScandia Fire Chief Steve Spence and a Scandia Pay Issue Committee may have found another way to compensate its firefighters.
Currently, Scandia firefighters are being paid a flat rate of $10 per call, $12 for department officers. The new plan, which will be presented to the Scandia Town Board at itís regular meeting in April, will be both hourly and incentive basedóranging from $8 to $12 per hour, depending on experience and training levels, with a minimum of one hour pay per call. Firefighters would also be paid during training drills.
The plan was presented to a committee made up of board members and the townshipís attorney last Friday morning by Spence and fire department personnel.
ìNobody is going to get rich from this plan,î Spence said. ìWeíre hoping it will give our people a little more incentive to do additional training, educate themselves. Which in turn not only make them better firefighters, but allow them to be compensated for their efforts.î
The way the current system is structured, firefighters are paid per call, meaning whether or not the call lasts one hour or ten hours, they still get the same pay.
The Scandia Pay Issue Committee was made up of Board Members Blair Joselyn, Mike Hinzówho is also a member of the Scandia Fire Departmentóand the townshipís attorney Dave Hebert.
ìThe more Scandia grows the demand on our firefighter grows,î Spence continued. ìThese are volunteers, they work fulltime jobs. They do many things in the community without compensation. We all see that. We need to do what we can to attract good people.î
The actual cost to the township for the change, according to Spence, will be discussed at the regular Board meeting in April.
The Scandia Town Board meets at 7:30 p.m., on the third Thursday of each month, at the Scandia Community Center.
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