Reform 5.2.1: EMT
Suspend EMT 8.5% Special Pay: ($4.83 million) Other Information:
Our office has previously opined on the cost savings available from eliminating a specialty pay provided to essentially all
firefighters for holding an EMT certificate -- even though an EMT certificate is a basic requirement of the job. Particularly
when the City finds itself in serious financial difficulties and has browned-out fire stations, we do not believe that providing
a special pay of 8.5% of base salary for a basic requirement of all applicants for a position with the Fire Department is
warranted. As the IBA has noted, 86% of calls responded to by the Fire Department are medical in nature4. This data suggests
that medical response is overwhelmingly the primary function of City firefighters, which justifies a continuation of the practice
of requiring an EMT certificate as a basic job qualification. It is our understanding that eliminating the EMT specialty pay
will reduce pensionable payroll, as this special pay is considered “base earnings” in the addendum submitted to SDCERS each
year along with the Salary Ordinance. Therefore, we expect actuarial savings to result, providing pension experience gains.
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