For City Council Meeting January 28, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Mike Milhiser, Interim City Manager
AUTHOR: Brian Park, Fire Chief
Title
Consideration to Amend the Full-Time Employee (FTE) Allocation for the Rialto Fire Department to Add Two Paramedic and Two EMT Positions to Backfill Long-Term Leave of Absences.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the amendment to the Rialto Fire Department’s Full-Time Employee (FTE) allocation to add two (2) Paramedic and two (2) EMT positions.
2. Authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute all documents necessary to implement this change.
BACKGROUND
The Rialto Fire Department provides ambulance response and patient transportation services. Currently, the department’s staffing includes 12 full-time EMTs and 14 full-time Paramedics. These positions experience high attrition rates due to employees seeking opportunities to become Firefighter/Paramedics. While the department often absorbs qualified individuals into Firefighter/Paramedic roles, the availability of such positions is limited. As a result, many employees leave for other agencies upon qualification.
Another significant challenge is the frequent requests for leaves of absence by EMTs and Paramedics to attend Fire Academy or Paramedic school, for example. During extended absences, vacancies cannot be temporarily filled due to personnel rules, resulting in operational disruptions and increased overtime costs for remaining staff.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
Adding two Paramedic and two EMT positions to the department’s FTE allocation would provide the flexibility needed to address these challenges. These additional positions would not increase operational deployment but instead, serve as a contingency to maintain staffing levels during long-term absences. As such, these positions will be considered temporary and not permanently filled.
This proactive approach would:
• Reduce the operational strain and overtime costs incurred by covering for vacant positions.
• Support the continued training and professional development of personnel.
• Ensure consistent ambulance staffing, enhancing service delivery and public safety.
This adjustment aligns with the department’s commitment to balancing employee development with operational sustainability. In the current deployment of resources and configuration, filling these vacancies during long-term absence requires filling the positions with overtime, which impacts the current operating budget and forces the other employees in those classifications and in the firefighter classification to fill those roles to maintain daily staffing levels.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This is a personnel-related action with no potential for direct or indirect physical changes to the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The City of Rialto’s General Plan emphasizes goals related to public safety. The proposed staffing adjustment is consistent with the following objective:
Goal 5-8: Provide effective and comprehensive emergency medical services that meet the safety needs of Rialto.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed and supports this staff report in form.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact
There will be no impact to the operating budget. The authorized positions will be utilized to backfill positions while personnel are out on extended leave for Fire Academy or Paramedic School. Currently, without these authorized positions there are extensive overtime costs to cover the operational needs of the department.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no capital improvement budget impact associated with this action.
Licensing
A City of Rialto business license is not required for this staff report.