Chief Raeder pitches cross-trained public-safety director and police-certified EMTs; council raises staffing and succession questions

Chief Raeder told the Erlanger City Council Caucus that the city is considering a public-safety director role and the use of police-certified EMTs to provide on-scene medical care while coordinating with the fire department.

"We thought, why not have some people on shift that are certified? They grab their stuff," Chief Raeder said, describing his rationale for having officers able to begin treatment immediately in certain emergencies and then hand off to fire personnel. He said the idea emerged from discussions about improving responses to high-risk incidents, including active-shooter scenarios, and from efforts to strengthen cooperation between the police department and the fire department.

Raeder said the job description is written so a person with either police or fire certification could fill the public-safety director role; the packet describes equivalent baseline certifications used for hiring so the position would not be limited strictly to an applicant with police POP certification. Raeder referenced that the Louisville Airport has an integrated department that performs both policing and firefighting functions and said that model is the only one he found "in the state" during his research, though he noted comparable models exist elsewhere in the United States.

Council members asked how the certification requirements would be maintained alongside administrative responsibilities, whether the role would be difficult to fill in the future and whether a hire’s background could cause perceived favoritism for one department. Raeder said the move toward common training and a budgeted training center should help reduce those risks and that cross-training interest already exists among personnel. He also noted the proposed public-safety director position was included in wage-scale materials shown earlier in the meeting.

No formal hiring or ordinance action occurred at the caucus; staff presented the job description for consideration and asked council members for feedback to be folded into the FY26 personnel planning and budgeting process.