City Board of Public Works & Safety approves fire chief's request to hire

Members of the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety approved the request of Fire Chief Steve Holm to begin the application process to hire three new staff members in 2025.

Chief Holm said he has been discussing this request with several members of the city administration and feels that now is the time to open the application process.  He said these new employees will bring up each shift up to six staff members.

Councilman Duane Culp asked if the budget for 2025 could handle the additional employees and Clerk-Treasurer Lynn Gorski said, “Barely, it will be tight, real tight.”

Mayor Listenberger said the request isn’t for an additional appropriation, it’s a request to open the application process. He said, “We have the new positions in next year’s budget.”

Chief Holm brought some support with him, on-duty members who were working on Monday were in attendance to show their support for the additional staff.

B Shift Lt. Justin Wade said the need for more full-time staff is not in any way a move away from the use of volunteers.  He said the additional staff members will improve response times and assist with the department’s call volume.

Sid Roda, a paramedic/firefighter on B Shift said, “Solely from the medical standpoint, primarily what I run, I think it’s great.  We need more staff per shift just because of the mental load alone.  Today I took care of a kid younger than me and serious things were happening to him.  Being a parent along with that, it takes a mental toll.  Extra staff kind-of lifts that burden somewhat.”       

Councilman Culp asked about the call volume and was told they are at 2,200 calls for the year.  Last year they ended with about 2,500 calls and the staff is confident they will surpass that number this year.

Councilman Don Ecker asked if there was a plan to cut back on the extra hours with the additional staff.  He also asked who will monitor the tight budget to ensure the department says within the budget.

Fire Chief Holm said as the department head he will monitor the budget with the assistance of the staff in the clerk’s office who help us stay on track throughout the year. As for overtime for training, the chief said, “With the additional staff they can have training on shift amongst the different crews which could alleviate some of the coming in off duty to do training. At the same time, I don’t want to sacrifice training because that’s one of the highest priorities of our job, is to train for what we do.” 

The Plymouth Board of Public Works & Safety unanimously approved the Fire Chief’s request to open the application process.  He will be looking for one paramedic and two EMTs.

While next year’s budget will be really tight, getting through the application process and all the testing processes, it will more than likely be February before the first hire will happen.