Western Springs 'Keeping Up With Joneses' On Medic Pay

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs is increasing pay for paramedics, which an official said was the village's way "to keep up with the Joneses."

On Monday, the Village Board approved the salary hikes in its contract with Itasca-based Paramedic Services of Illinois, which serves the village.

Under the terms, new paramedics assigned to Western Springs will get $75,000 next year, up from $65,000. Existing paramedics will also see a $10,000 increase.

The current average starting salary for paramedics in the area is $73,371, which means Western Springs is 11 percent behind, according to the village.

In a memo late last month, Western Springs Fire Chief Brian Scott said the village lacked full staffing of its contract paramedic positions two-thirds of the time.

That means the current paramedics have had to work more shifts, he said.

"These enduring labor shortages have resulted in area paramedic companies and fire departments repeatedly increasing compensation and benefits in the hopes of attracting and retaining qualified firefighter/paramedic candidates in an extremely competitive labor market," Scott said.

A few years ago, Trustee Scott Lewis said, the village had to bump up paramedics' pay because of the same issue, "keeping up with the Joneses."

Trustee James Tyrrell called the increase "pretty reasonable," while Village President Heidi Rudolph said it "makes a lot of sense."

Here is the village's study of starting salaries for paramedics in the area: