MONTAGUE — The Turners Falls Fire Department is coping with an understaffed department, says its chief, and is seeking money to create two new firefighter jobs to evenly distribute the amount of hours employees work each week.
“Right now, the entire department is 22 people, which is a very low number. We should be 40,” Fire Chief Robert Escott said. By creating two firefighter positions, with starting salaries of $42,000, the department hopes to decrease overtime and bring the total number of full-time firefighters up to 12.
The department also relies on an additional 12 on-call firefighters, many who have day jobs and cannot always respond to emergencies. Most wear pagers and are called when needed.
The new firefighters would work during daytime hours to fill the department’s greatest scheduling need.
By adding the two positions, the proposed Fire Department budget would be increased by about $44,000, bringing the total to about $1.14 million, said Eileen Tela, accountant for the Turners Falls Fire District.
The two positions would add $21 to the annual tax bill on about an $200,000 home, costing less than $2 dollar a month.
The department aims to provide the best service possible, while being financially responsible, Escott said in a letter to the community.
Currently the department responds to over 1,200 calls for service each year. About 50 percent are medical emergencies.
“At some point we have to weigh the cost of new employees to the cost of overtime and the amount of hours worked,” Escott said.
Residents will have a chance to learn more about the department’s requests at a public hearing at Hillcrest Elementary School at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.