Clanton’s City Council on Thursday approved Fire Chief David Driver’s plan to compensate firefighters for medical calls.

Volunteers with the department had not been compensated for medical calls in the past. They were compensated $22 for each non-medical call, such as a house fire, they responded to.

The plan submitted by Driver to the council on Thursday calls for firefighters to be compensated for medical calls based on their level of training.

Compensation will range from $10 per medical call response for first-year employees to $18 per medical call for a paramedic and $22 for fire department officers.

Driver said the plan allows firefighters to increase their rate of pay based on their willingness to participate in training.

“There’s room in the fire department for somebody to make whatever they would like,” he said. “They just have to put forth the effort to get there.”

CFD brings in professionals from outside the department to conduct officer testing, Driver said, which is available to all employees, of which there are currently 21.

Driver said policies are in place to make sure firefighters don’t respond to medical calls when not needed, simply for the compensation. Also, employees are not allowed to respond to calls that come in when they are off their shift.

Driver estimated that more than half of the department’s total call volume are strictly for medical issues.

The council, which moved its meeting from Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday, unanimously approved Driver’s plan.

In other business, the council:

•Agreed to apply for a grant for playground equipment at E.M. Henry/West End Park. The $34,000 grant sought would require an equal match by the city, Mayor Billy Joe Driver said.

•Renewed its contract with RPS for the collection of sales tax. RPS will continue to earn 1.85 percent of what the company collects, Driver said.

•Submitted bids for four new police cars.

•Learned that Clanton Police Department plans to participate in National Night Out on Aug. 6.

•Hired a part-time worker for the summer in the streets department.

•Approved sick leave for a city hall employee.