AMU Emergency Management Health & Fitness Opinion Public Safety Resource

Low Wages, Volunteerism and Budget Cuts

It is no secret that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies throughout the country can have a difficult time with their respective budgets.

Numerous articles have been published on the issue. For example, the Journal of Emergency Medical Services [link url=”http://www.jems.com/articles/2011/09/ems-budget.html” title=”published an article”] specifically about how emergency managers can work to save money in their respective budgets. 

It can be very difficult for local governments to provide the resources an EMS agency needs to run a staffed organization well because there are so many programs that the local government needs to provide its citizens. Emergency medical services (EMS) is of course, an important public safety program the local government provides, but it can be difficult for a local government to effectively manage a budget for EMS — especially with the numerous resources that are needed to make it robust.

EMS and the fire department are two agencies that can be staffed with volunteers because so many people in the community want to assist their fellow citizens during times of need. Agencies throughout the United States often use volunteers to staff their ambulances. But, following basic principles of [link url=”http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp” title=”supply and demand”], volunteerism combined with small budgets can make it difficult for wages to increase for emergency medical technicians, paramedics and firefighters.

Volunteers – Will Work for Free

The overarching world of emergency management, ultimately, is a tremendously fun, adrenaline-pumping experience. It is an area of expertise that requires tremendous training, skill and a mindset that enjoys what most citizens would call a stressful experience.

Those who volunteer in aspects of emergency management absolutely love what they do – so much that they will serve on call for 24 hour shifts, all night, over major holidays and will get up before the crack of dawn to be at the station. For these volunteers, work is often a labor of love, as they truly enjoy serving their community while volunteering for a good cause. They love what they do.

Low Wages, Budgets and a Vicious Cycle

Because local governments don’t have to pay wages for volunteers, the communities can effectively budget without the worry of accounting for staff wages. Paying employees a salary is tremendously expensive. 

However, the notion of large quantities of people volunteering can change the demand required for paid positions. Ultimately, this is a situation that will leave other agencies scratching their heads as if to say, “why pay for the same services if we can get it for free?”  

In many respects this is an ideal situation for local governments, but for those who are career emergency medical technicians, paramedics and firefighters, this situation can potentially make it particularly hard for them to have higher wages.

Furthermore, it also drives the demand for the amount of certifications and experience for a middle class salary way up in a simple [link url=”http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp” title=”supply and demand”] equation. Many localities have job lotteries for the few open positions that they have – and the amount of applications that come in can be so overwhelming to narrow down the list of candidates.

Assess the Situation Carefully

Volunteerism is tremendously important for some communities to staff their fire departments and ambulances. After all, some communities just aren’t particularly wealthy and they need volunteers from the community to assist.  However, in some parts of the country this can be rather detrimental to the paid branches of these same services.

Thus, before a local government works to create volunteer opportunities, they need to assess the situation carefully as it will impact the paid positions tremendously, especially where principles of supply and demand are involved. Further, this issue would need a lot of organizational change and political support to stop this cycle from continuing in the future.

Allison G.S. Knox

Allison G. S. Knox teaches in the fire science and emergency management departments at the University. Focusing on emergency management and emergency medical services policy, she often writes and advocates about these issues. Allison works as an Intermittent Emergency Management Specialist in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. She also serves as the At-Large Director of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, Chancellor of the Southeast Region on the Board of Trustees with Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences, chair of Pi Gamma Mu’s Leadership Development Program and Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Paramedicine. Prior to teaching, Allison worked for a member of Congress in Washington, D.C. and in a Level One trauma center emergency department. She is an emergency medical technician and holds five master’s degrees.

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