Carroll County commissioners approve hiring deputy chief for fire and EMS
The Carroll County Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services has been given the green light to hire a deputy chief of operations, who in part, could help reduce the turnover rate within the new department.
This is a newly created management position to provide oversight and leadership within the operations of fire and EMS.
“We have a need to place a senior management position to oversee the four chief commanders in operational functions of our fire and EMS system,” Michael Robinson, chief and director of the county’s Department of Fire and EMS said, at a meeting of the Board of Carroll County Commissioners on Thursday.
Commissioners unanimously approved the creation of the position and the immediate hiring within the current fiscal 2024 or fiscal 2025, which starts July 1.
Robinson said the deputy chief of operations could help to reduce the turnover rate since that person could handle any issues as they happen.
The department has had 21 employees leave in the last 10 months, including six in March, according to the county’s response to a Maryland Public Information Act request on March 20.
It is unclear whether these employees — including firefighters, emergency medical technicians, shift commanders, paramedics and two assistant chiefs — quit voluntarily or were fired from their positions, according to information provided to the Carroll County Times on March 27.
Meanwhile, the position of chief of operations was not originally planned when commissioners unanimously voted to pass an ordinance to create the department in October 2020.
“Any system, you start it, you develop it, and this wasn’t in the initial plan, but to me it’s pretty obvious it’s something that’s needed,” District 2 Commissioners’ President Ken Kiler said. “We’ve learned through the process…that the position is needed, and the sooner the better.”
Robinson said over time they have seen that the four shift commanders currently overseeing the daily operations is not enough.
The four shift commanders report directly to Robinson for operational matters and to the assistant chief of emergency medical services for performance issues within the department. Daily operations include the handling of staffing, scheduling, human resource matters, incident response and daily interaction with 14 stations within the county.
“This would free myself for all the areas that I do, and provide greater strategic leadership at my level along with the other duties,” Robinson said.
The salary, which includes health benefits, post-retirement benefits and equipment, is the following. If hired in the current fiscal 2024, the cost to the county also includes a vehicle purchase.
FY24: $283,840
FY25: $187,860
FY26: $199,640
FY27: $209,870
FY28: $220,640
“This position within the department’s chain of command would also serve as the second in command level which would assure agency consistency during (Robinson’s) absence at times,” a county briefing paper states.
