Iola will soon divide its fire and ambulance services, in a move to address what city officials have described as a “critical” staffing shortage.
Iola City Council members voted, 4-2, Tuesday to go along with staff recommendations to split the services.
The problem, Fire Chief Corey Isbell and City Administrator Matt Rehder explained, is a dearth of qualified workers willing to provide both firefighting and emergency medical care services.
“We’ve done it for years, but look at the changing times,” Isbell said. “Some folks just want to fight fires.”
The fire department began looking at separating the services a few months back by allowing those employees who would rather focus on a single discipline to stay on that side of the ledger.
That’s when the staff shortage was even more dire, Mayor Steve French noted. The move helped, slicing staff vacancies from eight to four.
Filling the rest of the vacancies has been an impossible task.
Rehder noted the city has lost out on several candidates unwilling to do both fire and EMS.
COUNCIL members debated the various repercussions of the move, particularly for Iola’s budget. Having separate services is projected to cost an extra $600,000 annually.
The city’s 2023 budget for the existing fire/EMS department is $3.5 million. The Iola-only fire service would cost the city about $1.9 million; EMS-alone would cost $2.2 million.
Iola’s fire protection service is funded through the city’s general fund. A five-year contract reached last year with Allen County has the county paying the city $1.65 million for EMS, increasing that payment 2.5% each year through the life of the contract.
Still, with a $300,000 difference between projected cost and revenues for EMS, Rehder said the city should attempt to renegotiate its contract with Allen County to cover those expenses.
COUNCILWOMAN Joelle Shallah and French both noted the staffing shortage affects more than the budget, noting employee burnout has played a role in many leaving IFD early on in their careers.
EMS emergency calls and patient transfers to metropolitan hospitals are up significantly this year, Isbell added.
A single transfer takes two ambulance personnel out of their respective stations for an average of six hours at a time, regardless of whether they are near the end of their shift, French noted.
“I’m not going to call them unnecessary transfers,” Shallah said, “but there are transfers that have been prioritized” that may not have been previously.
