City, fire department unveil hire-ahead program for new cadets

As Spokane’s aging firefighters head toward retirement, and the amount of overtime pay the department consumes rattles the Spokane City Council, Chief Bobby Williams and Mayor David Condon this week unveiled a “hire ahead” program to train cadets ahead of outgoing officers.

The program, first proposed by Councilman Mike Allen in 2009, will have an initial cost of $195,000, which must be approved by the City Council. Savings from vacant positions in the department and from the city’s workers’ compensation insurance will also be used to initially fund the program.

Condon said the upfront cost will lead to a long-term savings in overtime.

“It saves money to have people trained, prepared and able to fill vacancies when they come up,” Condon said. “Consistently feeding a pipeline of new firefighters is part of building the safest city of our size.”

According to Williams, 10 firefighter positions are currently vacant, and eight or more positions are expected to be vacated through mid-2016 due to anticipated retirements. The city will start the program by training 22 new recruits beginning next month.

If the City Council approves the program Monday, cadets could go through the interview process, testing and medical checks before beginning the 13-week recruit school at the end of September. Graduating in late December, the new recruits will be available for assignment by the first Sunday of the New Year, Williams said.

The Spokane Police Department implemented a similar program last year.

Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer would not estimate how much the department has spent on overtime this year because many firefighters have been sent out to help fight the state’s growing wildfires. The department will pay for their overtime until later reimbursed by the state, he said. Other personnel are working, and getting paid overtime, in their absence.

“We used to keep it down at about $1 million,” Schaeffer said about overtime.

Williams said there was a small risk a cadet could go through the training process only to find there is no position available, but he noted it was unlikely.

“They’re hire-aheads until the people that we expect to retire actually sign the papers and leave,” he said. “In essence, what we have always done is filled positions in arrears, if you will, after they’ve become vacant. Now we’re trying to get in front of that.”

Allen said it was impossible to know how much would be saved through the program, but he hoped for at least a 20 percent savings on what he said amounted to $4 million in overtime costs some years. He praised the city administration’s progress.

“I’m glad to see we’re finally doing this,” he said. “Now we won’t have to wait months to get someone in. This keeps firefighters on the street.”