(A) The Fire Department shall be composed of a Fire Chief appointed by the Town Council, and such number of subordinate officers and firefighters hired by the Town Council as may determined and recommended by the Fire Chief.
(B) The Fire Department shall consist of no more than five career firefighters. In addition, the Fire department shall be supplemented by a number of paid stand-by firefighters, with said number as determined by the Town Council and the Fire Chief.
(C) All members of the Fire Department must comply with the residency requirements of IC 36-8-4.5-4.
(D) Pursuant to state law, the Town Council hereby adopts an ordinance that requires a member of the Fire Department to satisfy all of the following residency requirements:
(1) Reside within one of the following counties: Johnson, Marion, Shelby, Bartholomew, Brown and Morgan;
(2) Have adequate means of transportation into the town; and
(3) Maintain an individual telephone number with the town.
(E) The employees of the Fire Department shall meet all qualifications set forth in state statutes.
(F) (1) As required by IC 36-8-3.2-3, the Town Council will adopt standards for firefighters establishing a physical agility test and a general aptitude test. Pursuant to IC 36-8-3.2-3(c), the Town Council will present the standards to the Board of Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education for review.
(2) The Town Council or its designee, the Fire Chief, will administer the agility and aptitude tests to applicants.
(G) The Fire Chief shall, under the direction of the Town Council, set up the organization of the department, make work assignments to individuals, and shall formulate and enforce such rules, regulations, and policies as shall be necessary for the orderly and efficient operation of the fire department.
(H) The Fire Chief shall, subject to IC 36-8-2.2 and 36-8-3, have the authority to discipline and reprimand the personnel of the Fire Department when he or she deems such action to be necessary for the good of the Department.
(I) Pursuant to IC 36-8-3-4, the Town Council, as the appointing authority, is considered the Safety Board of the town, and IC 36-8-3-4 applies to the discipline, demotion and dismissal of members of the Fire Department.
(J) The Fire Chief shall be fully responsible for the training of the firefighters and for maintenance of all apparatus, property and equipment of the Fire Department, under the direction and subject to the requirements of the Town Council.
(K) All personnel of the Fire Department, whether career or paid stand-by shall be in compliance with the training requirements of firefighters set forth in IC 36-8-10.5.
(L) Each firefighter, including all officers, shall receive no less than ten hours of in-service firefighter training annually.
(M) The Town Council shall grant leaves of absences for a firefighter's service in the Indiana General Assembly, pursuant to IC 36-8-5-2(b).
(N) (1) The Town Council may grant leaves of absences for a firefighter's service in any other elected office or, pursuant to IC 36-8-5-2(b) and (d), for one of the following reasons for a period of up to one year:
(a) Sickness;
(b) Disability;
(c) Sabbatical purposes related to the improvement of the member's professional performance and skills, such as education, special training, work related experience, and exchange programs.
(2) The leave of absence may be renewed upon written request of the member. The Town Council may determine that a member may receive compensation pursuant to IC 36-8-5-2(f).
(O) As required by IC 36-8-5-2(i), the Town Council hereby adopts a written policy that a firefighter is not entitled, during a leave of absence, to participate in any promotional process or earn seniority. A firefighter returning from leave shall be reinstated to the rank determined under this policy. Except as provided by federal law, the Town Council is not required to reinstate a firefighter in the job that the firefighter held at the time the firefighter's leave began.
(P) The provisions of IC 36-8-5-3, et seq., apply to leaves of absence for military service.
(Q) Pursuant to IC 36-8-8-3(b), since the town did not establish a 1937 fund for its firefighters, the town may participate in the Public Employees' Retirement Fund ("PERF") or it may participate in the 1977 fund. The town will take the appropriate measures for its firefighters to participate in the PERF.
(R) Attendance and punctuality. Firefighters shall report at their scheduled shift start time. If the firefighter is unable to report for the shift on time or it is necessary to call off regarding the shift, the firefighter shall call the on-duty officer in charge to report the absence or that the Firefighter will be arriving late. After doing so, the firefighter shall log into Fire Manager system and submit a request for time off. The on-duty officer in charge will be responsible for relaying this information to the officer in charge of the shift or the Fire Chief, and will attempt to fill the hours in the event a reported absence adversely affects staffing. Excessive absenteeism may result in the inability to be assigned to a dedicated shift or submit hours on the shift schedule. Excessive absenteeism may also result in disciplinary action.
(S) Reserve firefighter request for time off.
(1) Reserve firefighters of the Department who are scheduled for a shift or assigned to a dedicated shift may request approval for time off with advanced notice to the officer in charge of the shift or the Fire Chief.
(2) In the event requested time off will adversely affect the daily staffing, the reserve firefighter must asked to trade the hours or attempt to give them away.
(T) Regular pay and overtime.
(1) Overtime will be paid to members of the Fire Department who are firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, rescue workers, ambulance personnel, hazardous material workers and reserve firefighters who have worked over 212 hours during the Fire Department's 28-day work period.
(2) Other employees of the Fire Department, such as dispatchers, alarm operators, equipment repair, maintenance workers, and others who are not employees in fire protection activities as defined by 29 C.F.R.553.210(a) will be paid overtime when they have worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.
(3) Overtime compensation is paid to all non-exempt employees at the rate outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
(4) Firefighters and reserve firefighters must receive authorization from the Fire Chief or his designee prior to working unscheduled overtime. It is the employee's responsibility to record and verify regular hours and overtime hours on their time sheet.
(5) Overtime compensation will be compensated to employees at a rate of:
(a) One and a half times the regular rate of pay for each hour of overtime work (overtime pay); or
(b) One and one-half hours of compensatory time for each hour of overtime work.
(6) Each employee has the option of receiving either overtime pay or compensatory time off for their overtime hours worked. Employees must inform the Fire Chief as to whether they want to receive overtime pay or compensatory time off.
(7) The Fire Department retains the option to pay overtime in additional salary in lieu of providing compensatory time off in any workweek or work period. This substitution will not affect subsequent granting of compensatory time off in future workweeks or work periods.
(8) Overtime pay will be paid along with regular pay on the employee's paycheck. Compensatory time off will be placed in a compensatory time bank. Employees may not accrue more than 24 hours of compensatory time.
(9) Payments for unused compensatory time may be made at any time and shall be paid at the regular rate earned by the employee at the time the employee receives such payment.
(10) Employees may request to use their compensatory time off. They will be permitted to use the time off within a reasonable period after making the request if the use does not unduly disrupt the operations of the Fire Department.
(11) Upon termination of employment, the employee will be paid for unused compensatory time at a rate not less than:
(a) The average regular rate received by the employee during the last three years of employment; or
(b) The final regular rate received by the employee, whichever is higher.
(U) Kelly Day (full time employees only).
(1) All full-time firefighters of the Fire Department will receive a Kelly Day (assigned leave day) in order to partially reduce the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime impact on the town. Kelly Days will be credited as a leave time bank thus not to affect the employee's hourly pay rate calculations. The employee will receive a Kelly Day during any 28-day period that the employee is scheduled to work ten shifts.
(2) At times, the employee may be asked to work their Kelly Day at the discretion of the Fire Chief in order to avoid critical staffing shortages. Additionally, the town reserves the right to cancel or reschedule an employee's Kelly Day during a particular 28 day work period as needed to maintain adequate staffing levels.
(V) Pay schedule. Employees are paid on a weekly basis on Thursday. The pay cycle starts on Monday and includes all hours worked through Sunday. Employees will receive all earnings the week following the close of the weekly payroll cycle. Any overtime earnings will be paid the first payroll date following the completion of the 28-day Fair Labor Standards Act period.
(W) Time keeping rules for non-exempt employees.
(1) The town will maintain strict compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
(2) Employees must keep accurate record of all of their work hours in the manner designated by the town (e.g., scheduling and verifying hours, submitting signed timecards in Fire Manager). Employees must review the accuracy of the time records before submitting them to the applicable supervisor for processing.
(3) Employees are responsible for reporting accurate time records and verifying the exact time of the beginning and end of the shift.
(4) Employees must obtain their supervisor's approval before working over and above their regularly scheduled work hours. However, employees are not required to obtain prior approval when handling emergency situations and runs that last longer than their scheduled shift.
(5) In the event an employee is unable to physically sign their time sheet, the employee's supervisor may do so with the employee's consent.
(Ord. 2019-17, passed 11-21-19; Am. Ord. 2019-19, passed 12-9-19; Am. Ord. 2020-15, passed 7-27-20)