Monroe County Commissioners approved by a 4-0 vote on Thursday, Aug. 20 to staff the Smarr fire station with two firefighters/EMTs on a full-time basis.
At the recommendation of Monroe County Emergency Services (MCES) Chief Matthew Jackson, Commissioners will spend $285,000 to add six firefighter/EMT positions, including salary and benefits, to account for the increase in personnel at the Smarr fire station.
County Manager Jim Hedges said after regular work hours end at 5 p.m. each night until 8 a.m. each morning, the county presently only has five firefighters in the entire county to fight a structure fire should all three county ambulances (with a total of six employees) already be occupied on calls. Jackson said a continued shortage of volunteer firefighters, a frequent predicament across the nation, has necessitated the need for more full-time employees.
Jackson said, “We have volunteers. Volunteers are great. I wish we had more of them. But at the end of the day those numbers are steadily decreasing.”
County Manager Hedges said vacant county positions are not presently being filled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, he said MCES personnel are essential for the health and safety of citizens.
“It’s very important that we have fire/EMT people,” County Manager Hedges said. “We’ll make it work.”
After about 40 minutes of discussion, District 4 Commissioner George Emami motioned to approve the request, which was seconded by District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland, contingent upon County Manager Hedges and Finance Director Lorri Robinson determining a way to fund the new positions without hiking the overall county budget. Commissioners then approved the measure by a 4-0 vote with District 1 Commissioner Larry Evans abstaining, saying he didn’t have enough information to support the expenditure.
“Personally, I think this is a matter of safety, which is our highest calling on this Commission,” Commissioner Emami said. “To me, that’s something that we have to make sure is funded.”
In addition, Commissioners unanimously approved to allow Jackson to create a plan for disbanding the county’s long-running practice of providing non-emergency transport service. Commissioner Rowland said the county does not have enough ambulances to have them regularly making non-emergency transports that frequently cause county ambulances to be tied up waiting at hospitals as far away as metro-Atlanta.
Commissioner Rowland said, “These non-emergency transports, they are constantly taking ambulances out of our county, and that is not providing for the safety, health and welfare of this county.”
Jackson added that non-emergency transports have been particularly problematic during the COVID-19 pandemic since many area hospitals are at or near capacity necessitating trips to more distant hospitals which can result in trips of up to six hours. Commissioner Rowland said on non-emergency transports it is a hospital’s responsibility to ensure its patients are taken to other locations, not Monroe County Emergency Services’. Jackson said he’s already met with Monroe County Hospital CEO Lorraine Smith about Monroe County transitioning out of non-emergency transports.
“From my previous conversations with Monroe (County) Hospital, I don’t think this will be an issue for them,” Jackson said of eliminating the county’s non-emergency transports. “They seem to be more than willing to work with us on it. And I think once again as long as we’re working together, it won’t create any problems.”
County Manager Hedges also asked Commissioners to consider signing bonuses for new public safety hires that pay out up to $2,500 per hire over the first two years of employment. County Manager Hedges said although Monroe County’s hourly compensation for public safety employees is among the best in the Middle Georgia region, the county has continued to struggle to find qualified candidates to fill long-standing vacancies. Commissioner Emami said he supports the idea, noting that signing bonuses are frequently used as incentives in all types of industries.
While Commissioners took no action on offering signing bonuses on Thursday, Jackson said his department is also considering requiring new MCES hires to sign a contract guaranteeing at least two years of county service if MCES pays for the hire’s paramedic school education training. Should the employee leave the department prior to the end of the two-year contract, either the employee who exited or the department the employee relocated to would be responsible for paying the remaining cost of the schooling provided. County Manager Hedges said Jackson, who was hired as chief in May, will make a more comprehensive presentation to Monroe County Commissioners on Sept. 15, updating them on the all of the county’s Emergency Services needs.
