Emergency responders deserve fair compensation

Ever talk with a Mat-Su Borough firefighter about how much he or she earns? Did you come away from that conversation believing the compensation is fair?

If you have, please tell us which firefighters you spoke to, because that is not an experience we have ever had. When we talk to firefighters, medics and rescue responders about how much they are compensated for the work they do, more often than not we come away thinking there’s something not quite right here.

Theoretically, these professionals aren’t supposed to be solely employed as emergency responders. The idea is they are compensated some for their time, but the expectation is other work is what pays their bills. And we’re sure that for a lot of responders in the Mat-Su Borough, this is the case. They work full-time jobs elsewhere and respond to calls on their own time.

But there are some — and not all of them high-ranking officers — who respond to emergencies as their primary employment. The borough may classify them as “on-call” employees, but when you look at their timecards it is clear they are working full-time.

We write this in reaction to a story in today’s paper about the eligibility of these employees for the state retirement program. What their status working more-or-less full-time hours responding to emergency calls will mean for their retirement benefits we have no idea. What it should mean we don’t feel qualified to say.

What is clear, as we report on the latest development in this story line, is that the borough, while it maintains the system is designed to be staffed by personnel who are not full-time, clearly has come to rely on people who do.

Why else would it be such an issue for the borough to mandate responders only work a maximum of 15 hours a week?

If the fire departments are supposed to be made up almost entirely of part-timers, what’s the harm in mandating they be part-timers?

It’s because if those full-timers are asked to cut back their hours they will be forced to find employment elsewhere and not be available to respond to nearly as many emergencies. That would raise the question about if enough part-timers could respond appropriately to every car crash and emergency.

The system functions now because there are people dedicated enough to work more hours than they should.

However this shakes out, it is our sincere hope it does so in a manner that allows our first responders to work jobs that compensate them in a manner commensurate with their dedication, knowledge, commitment and training.

It seems that is the least we can do for the people tasked daily with saving our lives.