Tipton fire chief reports hose-testing completion, staffing pressure and missed federal grant deadline

Fire Chief Ogden told the Tipton City Board of Public Safety the department completed its annual hose testing with few failures and that leaking O-rings were the most common repair. The testing supports compliance with national standards and the department’s insurance grading (ISO) requirements, Ogden said.

Ogden said new gear for recent hires has been ordered at a cost of about $9,900 and noted the budgeted safety-clothing line was $10,000—down $6,000 from the prior year—so he expects to request a transfer if necessary. "We only budgeted $10,000 in safety clothing," Ogden said, "so we knew it was going to be one of the items we potentially have to transfer money to." He also reported ongoing monitoring of fuel costs and said most trucks and hoses passed inspection.

On grants, Ogden said the department will not apply for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) this cycle because staff could not compile three years of run data in time; the AFG deadline was that day at 5:00 p.m. He said the department will pursue other grant opportunities, including foundation and local program grants that may have less stringent reporting requirements.

Ogden asked the board’s permission to begin a part-time medic recruitment process to address coverage shortfalls and recommended a market-rate part-time pay of about $30 per hour. He said current part-time pay is low compared with neighboring agencies and that increasing pay would make it plausible to cover benefit-day requests for full-time medics without leaving shifts unfilled. Ogden referenced an available balance of roughly $38,000 in the part-time payroll line and asked staff to review whether a salary-ordinance change could be fast-tracked if the budget analysis supports the increase.

Chief Ogden also reviewed training completions (three members finished a state-certified fire officer strategy course), equipment needs (updated CO and gas meters, an additional set of protective gear), and facility follow-ups (HVAC issues on some units and a request for a deep clean after construction dust). He asked the board to consider accounting adjustments for recent building improvements that were charged to equipment lines and suggested CCD or equipment-line transfers could correct the bookkeeping.

What happens next: Ogden will coordinate budget-transfer options with finance staff, pursue alternate grant opportunities, and start a part-time medic recruitment process subject to existing pay-scale constraints until any salary-ordinance change is approved.