Rosemount Firefighters Get a Pay Raise

Rosemount's paid, on-call firefighters are getting a raise from $6 per call to $10 per call, thanks to the Rosemount City Council's decision on March 19 to implement a pay hike in 2013.

The council has been reviewing firefighers' pay for nearly two years, with the goal of eventually recruiting 50 paid, on-call firefighters to the city, according to a memo prepared by Rosemount City Administrator Dwight Johnson.

Despite their efforts, city staff have never been able to attain that goal, in part because overall firefighter compensation in Rosemount lags compared to other cities surveyed. Stipends for Rosemount Fire Department officers has not been increased since 2006, and the city has one of the lowest cost fire departments in Minnesota on a per capita basis, according to city documents.

For example, Apple Valley pays its on-call firefighters $13.99 per hour, while Eagan pays $15 per call. Lakeville pays $10 per hour, according to city documents.

Under the new pay scheme, fire department officers' stipends will also increase roughly 10 percent, with some variations. The Rosemount fire chief's stipend will increase from $9,300 a year to $10,200, while the assistant chief will see a boost from $4,850 to $5,300. The pay increases are retroactive to Jan. 1.