Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
The City of Highwood has taken a first step toward privatizing its fire department.
City Council members voted 4-2 on June 2 to contract with Paramedic Services of Illinois to supply the department with two firefighter/paramedics per shift, or one-half of the staffing on duty at all times. The City of Highwood will pay Paramedic Services of Illinois about $411,000 the first year to provide six firefighter/paramedics exclusively to the City of Highwood to cover three shifts per day, seven days a week.
Highwood’s four full-time firefighter/paramedics and a pool of part-time personnel will fill out the schedule to ensure that four people are on duty throughout each 24-hour day.
The city recently laid off three full-time, first-year firefighters/paramedics shortly before their probationary period expired.
Highwood Ald. Eric Falberg, who supported the PSI proposal, noted that Highwood’s heavy reliance on part-time people to supplement its full-time force has been difficult to manage in the past, and the city has lacked the flexibility to hold over part-timers into the next shift.
But Ald. Mike Fiore felt strongly that Highwood taxpayers would willingly take on a tax increase in order to hire more full-time personnel. “In my opinion, these (contract) guys are all inexperienced,” Fiore said. “They just came out of the academy and can’t find a gig.”
Also opposed to the move was Ald. Andy Peterson, who felt the city should be looking instead to sharing services with neighboring municipalities. “I am not convinced that supplementing our full-time staff with contract employees — no matter how reputable the firm — is going to maintain or improve the current quality of service,” said Peterson, who agreed the current cost structure of providing services is not sustainable.
Speaking to concerns about contract employee turnover, Mike Hansen, vice president of Paramedic Services of Illinois, acknowledged that employees often leave to work in a municipal fire department for higher pay and pension benefits. Hansen also serves as fire chief for the Village of Lincolnwood, which relies exclusively on Paramedic Services of Illinois to staff its department.
“I am not here to necessarily convince you to (use our service),” said Hansen, acknowledging the advantages and disadvantages. “All I can tell you is our residents appreciate our service.” He added they are particularly appreciative two times a year when their property tax bills come out. “We save our community’s taxpayers about $1.3 million a year in pension liability costs,” he said.
