Fire the Hot Topic at Tonight's City Council Meeting

Fire is the hot topic on the agenda for tonight’s Shakopee City Council meeting.

An update on the construction of Shakopee’s new fire station on Vierling Drive will be given as well as discussion around planning for future fire needs in the next two to three years. Issues include improving daytime response times and the possibility of a third fire station to serve the southeastern part of Shakopee known as Southbridge.

Councilors will also discuss 2012 firefighter pay and will be asked to consider a proposed wage increase for the city’s paid-on-call firefighters.

The city is currently served by 43 paid-on-call firefighters who are paid $10 per hour for attendance at emergency fire and other calls, drills and meetings, according to city staff. Shakopee firefighters have not had a raise since the $10 per hour wage went into effect eight years ago.

City staff is proposing that part of the $25,000 in new funding allocated in the 2012 city budget for added part-time wages could go to giving some firefighters a 50 cent per hour raise. Additionally, they propose adding a new incentive pay component, which would be tied to a firefighter’s attendance level and would be similar to the police department’s pay-for-performance system.

The council will also hear an update on agreements the city holds with Jackson and Louisville Townships for fire service and costs related to providing the service. Both agreements were developed in 1994 and have not been recently reviewed or updated. City staff is looking into new and simplified ways to bill townships for the service.

The city council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at .