Sun Valley council approves 2016 wildland fire hourly wage rates, cites training and $8,000 benefit from one deployment

The Sun Valley City Council voted Aug. 16 to approve the 2016 Wildland Fire Hourly Wage Rates presented for calendar year 2016. City Administrator Robertson described the packet's pay levels and said the city participates in out-of-jurisdiction wildfire responses in part for training and recruitment benefit; Robertson said the analysis of one crew's deployment "comes out to about an $8,000 benefit." Council Member Jane Conard moved to approve the rates; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with all members present voting AYE.

Council members asked several clarifying questions during discussion. Council President Keith Saks asked about vehicle wear-and-tear; Robertson said one vehicle had been depreciated to the maximum and another was on the last year of its life. Robertson confirmed the presented analysis did not include the cost to pay paid-on-call firefighters who cover shifts when regular personnel are deployed; he requested that the council be provided with those figures and a three-year look-back. Mayor Peter Hendricks emphasized the training value, saying the deployments are "a great training experience" and that on-the-line work supplements paid training expenses. The council directed staff to provide historical cost data and old pay-rate tables (the current rates had not been updated since 2014) for further review.

The motion to approve the 2016 rates passed unanimously; the council recorded no amendments to the motion at the meeting.