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Walworth passes fire, rescue services referendum

WALWORTH — Village of Walworth voters Tuesday passed a referendum to add two full-time and one part-time daytime firefighter/EMTI positions to cover the village and Fontana.

The two firefighters, who will have intermediate emergency medical technical training, are the first full-time firefighters at either village, currently staffed with volunteer firefighters. They will be hired and managed by Illinois-based Metro Paramedic Services, which in return will charge the villages 10 percent of the firefighters’ salary.

The third position will be part-time and will not be managed or hired through Metro.

Chris Severt, emergency services director, said Metro would most likely hire EMTIs who are current members of the Walworth department. EMTIs are intermediate-level firefighters with training above EMTs and below paramedics, he said.

The positions, expected to be filled by early July, will operate between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday out of Walworth and Fontana.

“We had no contested races other than Supreme Court, so we didn’t expect a big turnout,” Severt said of the 189-173 vote. “We just hoped that we had reached the right groups of people to expand the problem and get the support we needed.”

The full-time employees will have a base annual salary of $38,000, and total compensation of $58,000 per year including benefits. The part-time position will be filled by several firefighters scheduled for 10-hour shifts at $15 per hour with no benefits, totaling $38,000 yearly.

The total cost of the program will be about $167,000 for 2010, split between Walworth and Fontana.