Wow, is that all they get paid! For a fire fighter, that is about (new wage) $24,000 a year. I suppose they get some free food and lodging, but that still seems way too low.

I must agree with the previous comment! I would think they would have some down time, but still, this can be a very dangerous job.

I guess paying over $30,000 to lobbyists and funneling at least another $10,000 into an organization that the mayor co-chairs was more important than properly paying those who put their lives on the line for our community. Shameful this took so long!

Shawn, was this vote 5-0?

maybe ya missed the on-call part...

As usual there is plenty of information not included in this story and it does not paint an accurate picture of just how these folks are overpaid. It has been proven time and again that you cannot take Glaser, Haryski or Hansen at their word. I'd better see some additional evidence to show they are not just blowing smoke. These on call folks are basically paid to sit on their collective asses 98 percent of the time and I don't care if it has been a few years, those percentage increases are out of line and if they can be accounted for in the current fire department budget then the city needs to scale back on what it allocates for the fire department each year. Has our LGA or taxes gone up at a similar rate as these salaries over the past seven years to justify increases this large. I would guess not. Also, is JIm Roush one of these people getting the fat raises? I believe we are already spending far more for our fire department than many similar sized communities, at least from what I recall of Harycki's own budget committee findings.

Do you know what info is not included or is this a guess based on their past deletions of information to justify their actions? I'm not arguing that fact, I'm just wondering what we may be missing.

I'm not a mathematician, Susan, but I think those are about 30 percent increases over 7 years. Has our LGA or city's budget grown by 30 percent in that time? If not, then why are we singling out these folks for such fat increases. I would like to see which communities were consulted and whether they were hand picked to justify these increases, especially if one of the beneficiaries is Jim Roush. Our fire department budget is already larger than most and that doesn't even include a new taj mahal facility that we don't need.

ok- i need more info.
Are the "on-call" like most other FD's areound here (zoom to fire station when there is a call)? Or are they at the station for a extended shift (with overnight)?

Are there full time people who are also double dipping and being paid for being on call when not on a regular shift?

Shawn, I'd ask that you please get some clarification to put Randy and Susan at ease. No one is getting paid to sit at home and wait for a call. They are only paid when they are on a call. I'm sure if Susan and Randy feel that this is too much money to pay these people for their service....the Stillwater FD would be glad to take them off their response list. That way, when Randy is having a heart attack and Lakeview requests more people to help with CPR or when Susan's kitchen is on fire....they won't have to also worry about the additional costs they will be incurring for the city!

Paid on-call firefighters do not get paid to sit on their asses while at home. They only get paid when a call is made and when they show up to the firehouse and make the truck or standby at the hall. My boyfriend is a Captain on a different fire department, so I know this for a fact. Please stop with the false information.

Shawn, I've read quite a few articles/applications for paid-on-call firefighters in Minnesota. The starting wage was $9-$12 and it does seem that they are paid only when they respond, but I can't find anything specific for Stillwater. I took your last comment above to mean that they are paid when they are on-call (meaning when they answer calls or not), but the comments above and the information I have found seems to contradict that...do you know if Stillwater is different than the information I have found, or did I misunderstand your comment? Thanks.

No worries, Shawn, it seems that I was also misunderstood. Apparently we ALL need to slow down a bit before judging other's words, Mike as I still don't understand how one could have come to the complete opposite conclusion when reading all that I wrote.

Here's what Chief Glaser told me about paid on-call:
Shawn,
You are correct, the paid-on-call personnel receive hourly pay when they respond to a call, conduct training or department meetings. Paid-on-call personnel receive one hour minimum for a call.
Stillwater is a combination fire department consisting of minimal full-time staff and a majority of paid-on-call personnel. The Department operates in a tiered response system. The full-time on duty crews respond immediately to the incident and if the situation requires it the paid-on-call staff are paged to respond.
In 2012 the SFD responded to 1,733 calls. 240 of these calls required paid-on-call response.

The pay raise has my complete support and believe their salaries are low considering the risks. I enjoyed reading the interesting comments, omitting Mikes sarcasm, to clarify some facts.