Mantua – At their first meeting of 2023, Fire Chief Matt Roosa shared that due to staffing shortages, the Department paid out over $56,000 in overtime during 2022. He informed board members that they had to dip into the General Fund in order to cover employee matching funds. He noted that with limited staff, employees picked up open shifts to ensure that residents would continue to receive necessary services. To help alleviate this issue moving forward, the department has been in the process of hiring additional staff. According to Roosa, several more full-time positions are in the process of being filled.
In their 2023 organizational meeting, the Fire Board approved Frank Ruhr from Shalerville Township as the Fire Board Chairman and Tammy Meyer from Mantua Village as Vice Chairperson. During their brief meeting, the board approved meeting minutes from their December meeting, accepted Fiscal Officer Ashlee Hawkins’ Financial Report, and reviewed the department’s EMS year-end report.
According to Roosa, of the 1,107 total incidents the MSFD covered, 873 resulted in patients being transported to local hospitals. He noted that in 2022, the department responded to 56 more calls than the previous year. When asked about the department’s collection rate, Roosa shared that the number was typical to other departments. He explained that as has been common practice, once the department collects from insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid, the amount billed is higher than the income the department anticipates receiving. It was also noted that residents are not billed the balance for EMS services, while non-residents are billed whatever isn’t covered by private insurance, Medicaid or Medicare.
The next regular Fire Board meeting takes place on Monday, February 13th at 6 pm; residents are encouraged to attend.
