By Cory Shaffer
cleveland.com
HINCKLEY, Ohio — Hinckley Township officials approved higher pay and new hiring provisions for firefighters Tuesday as the department struggles to fill a full-time position and compete with neighboring agencies.
At a special meeting on Tuesday, Fire Chief Matt Payne said the department has been unable to fill one of its three full-time firefighter slots, even after seeking interest internally.
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“We’re short one full-timer,” Payne told trustees. “We went through the list in the department. Nobody internally wants it. So, I’d like to go outside and I’m looking for a lateral transfer.”
The department is budgeted for three full-time firefighters and has more than 25 part-time positions.
Trustees unanimously approved an updated compensation and benefits package that increases wages across experience levels. Under the new structure, level two firefighters will earn $62,600 annually, while level three firefighters will earn $69,800, up from $66,800.
Payne said the township has lagged behind other departments in pay, making it difficult to recruit and retain firefighters.
“We’re at the very, very bottom of most salary structures,” he said, adding that nearby departments — including those in Cuyahoga County and communities such as Brunswick Hills, Richfield and Strongsville — offer higher wages.
“We’re investing time in sending the two full-timers we have to school,” Payne said. “I don’t want to lose and have to start over, so I think bringing salary wages up, it will help retain the full-time members we have now.”
The approved package also adds a new provision allowing the township to hire experienced firefighters through lateral transfers or to rehire retirees with at least 10 years of continuous full-time service.
Under the policy, lateral hires must currently be working full-time and will start at the department’s level two pay rate rather than entry level. That shift, officials said, is necessary to attract mid-career candidates who might otherwise take a pay cut to join the department.
Without that option, trustees noted, experienced firefighters would be required to start at the lowest pay tier, creating a barrier to recruitment.
Officials said the changes reflect broader challenges facing fire departments across the region, where retirements, expansion and training requirements have outpaced the number of available candidates.
“There’s a high need right now,” Payne said. “There’s been a lot of retirements. There’s been expansions. and there’s more need for firefighters than there is people to fill them.”
Trustees also discussed potentially restructuring the pay system in the future to allow more flexibility based on certifications and experience, rather than fixed year-based steps, but no changes were made on that front.
The resolution adopting the updated compensation package passed unanimously.
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