At least six Payson firefighters have applied for jobs elsewhere, a sign of a worrisome level of turnover in the department, the town council learned at its May 5 meeting.
The reason: low pay and insufficient credit for experience.
While the town had done two salary studies, neither has adequately addressed police and fire salaries.
“Their numbers were severely out of line with market,” said Lynne O’Donnell, the human resource analyst for the town.
The police and fire department have dominated recent council meetings. At the April 23 meeting, town staff presented information about reinstating a 0.12% sales tax to fund first responder equipment, building improvements, training and related costs. That tax in years past paid for construction of the third fire station off of Tyler Parkway.