MILLBURY — The Lake Township fire chief hopes that a big bump in pay will help retain and attract part-time EMS employees.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the trustees voted to compensate the part-time paramedics, advanced EMTs and basic EMTs at a rate comparable to similar communities in the region. The overtime/holiday rate will be 1.5 times the hourly pay.

The new hourly pay is $19.47 for paramedic, $17.50 for advanced EMT and $16.50 for EMT.It is up from $16.80, $14.01 and $13.17, respectively.

“It’s a challenge to get them and it’s a challenge to keep them,” said Fire Chief Bruce Moritz after the meeting. “Everybody’s having the same problems.”

Recent research done by EMS Chief Kevin Sanders found that Lake Township paid the lowest out of all the area fire departments. That required the raises, Moritz said.

The next step will be creating some full-time positions, Moritz said. The township regularly hires part-time EMS workers and once they get trained and some experience, they leave for full-time jobs, he said.

Moritz said he wants to hold off on that until a regional study is completed, perhaps by this fall.

In December, Lake Township, Rossford and Northwood officials decided to team up for a $24,000 study on combining EMS and fire services.

The Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association fire district feasibility study will look at the concept and possible operation of a joint fire and EMS district.

“We’re going to take the information we get back from that study and try to use that. We’re going to have to do something in the future,” Moritz said. “What that study’s going to also tell us … whether we can do this standing on our own or do we need to partner with other places.

“I’m a real believer in regionalization, because all we’re doing is fighting for the same pool,” he said. “Now we raised our rates, is somebody else going to raise their hourly rate? And where do you draw the line?”

Lake Township averages about three EMS runs a day.

Also at the meeting, the trustees approved raising the compensation for firefighters, and also gave them a bonus. Firefighters are considered volunteers, but are paid on a points basis, depending on what type of run they’re on, and are compensated quarterly.

The firefighters will receive a 3% hourly pay raise and be compensated at a rate of two points per hour for recognized holiday callout. They will also get a single payment of $1,000 if the firefighter made 10% or greater of the cumulative runs in 2021, or a single payment of $500 if the firefighter made less than 10%.

There are about 30 township firefighters, Moritz said.

In other fire and EMS business, the trustees accepted the resignations of part-time EMS employees Stacey Sieving and Mike Sharp.

“We’re losing them left and right,” said Trustee Chairman Ken Gilsdorf.