Kevin Cremer, who has served as the Festus fire chief as a volunteer since 2016, no longer will receive a small stipend, but instead will soon be paid a full-time salary for the job.
Mayor Sam Richards promoted Cremer to the full-time, paid position at the Sept. 25 City Council meeting.
He officially takes over the job on Oct. 14, when he will see his $12,000 stipend for serving as volunteer chief increase to a $61,100 annual salary for the full-time position.
“He’s been doing a great job as chief in a volunteer position,” Richards said. “That’s why we offered him the (full-time) position.”
Cremer, 46, of Festus said he already has given notice to leave his current job as a dispatcher in St. Louis County.
He is the city’s second full-time chief. However, his predecessor, Chuck Boyer, who became the first Festus full-time chief in 2012, was classified as a volunteer in that position and instead was paid $48,921 for the full-time position of fire inspector.