05-04-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

Anoka County Recruitment & Retention Resources SAFER Grant Details Anoka County has received a four year $1.1M grant to assist with recruitment and retention of firefighters within our communities. It is administered through the Centennial Fire District, but all fire departments within Anoka County can take advantage of the resources provided by the grant. Grant coverage began on November 19th, 2012 and will continue for four years until 236 new recruits are certified. Once the 236 limit has been reached, the funding stops for the reimbursable items (physicals & PPE) and sign-up & referral bonuses. This limit could be reached much earlier than the four year period if recruitment goes well. The main focus of the grant is to improve recruitment and retention within the 16 fire departments in Anoka County. The following fire departments can now receive these benefits: Andover, Anoka -Champlin, Bethel, Centennial Fire District, Columbia Heights, Columbus, Coon Rapids, East Bethel, Fridley, Ham Lake, Lexington, Linwood, Oak Grove, Ramsey, SBM Fire District, and St. Francis. Based on County -wide input, we plan to implement a common recruitment message and also build tools to allow interested candidates to easily access information on how to become a firefighter. We will also share info about common hiring practices throughout the County. A secondary focus of the grant is to raise the level of certification level for all Anoka County firefighters to Firefighter II and EMTB. Due to feedback from departments that don't require EMTB, we will work with the grant auditors to remove any requirements for EMTB certification. In particular, the PPE reimbursement will only need Firefighter 11 certification, not EMTB. The goals of this grant require input from all departments within Anoka County. Please contact me to set up an appointment to cover details specific to your department and also help guide us in creating a common recruitment message. Thank you! Mike Schweigert Recruitment Coordinator/Captain Centennial Fire District 7741 Lake Drive Lino Lakes, MN 55014 651.792.7905 mike.schweigert@centennialfire.org Version: 02/09/2015 AnokaCo_recruit_grant_details.docx 1 of 8