LETTER: The Fire Department Must Be Run As A Business
Reader believes a new contract must take into consideration the needs of firefighters and the town.
To the Editor:
Dear Fellow Residents, I would like to start this letter lending my support and gratitude to all of our Fire Fighters in Town.
My Dad’s Grandfather was a fire fighter and lost his life from actions taken in the line of duty. He was burned over most of his body, trying to save others, and after clinging to life for quite some time, we lost a true hero. His story is like so many others. The selfless acts that these true heroes make are not to be disqualified for any reason.
That being said, this Town has become sorely divided over the issue of more funds being utilized out of the Stabilization Fund to the 2014 Budget for the Fire Department. I have (as always) some thoughts on this…
- The current contract between the Fire Department and the Town was dated July of 2006 and expired in 2009. We have been working with the Fire Department for nearly 4 years without an updated contract. Not only is it out of date, but also needs to be re-explored to fit needs and financial constraints that this Town must now abide by.
- Under the current outdated contract, the Fire Dept. is nearly un-answerable to any other entity in Town.
- Under the current outdated contract, the Fire Chief can (and is essentially obligated to), at any time, shut down the South Street Station as a first resort.
- Under the current outdated contract, only the 16 Junior EMTs (out of the 50 active) are allowed to operate the ambulance.
- Under the current outdated contract, overtime pay is not only available, but due to restrictions listed above, as well as others, nearly guaranteed to all FF.
This Town undoubtedly needs a new contract that can not only fulfill the needs of the Fire Fighters, but just as importantly, fulfill the needs of our Town. Instead of working to negotiate a new contract, it was apparently decided that it would be wiser to aggravate the situation by publicly requesting the taxpayers help to remove over $400,000.00 out of our Stabilization Fund in order to attain their objective.
The problem that I have with this, is after researching it, this money is not to “keep South Street Station Open”, as the letter leads us to believe, it is to fund their “expected” overtime pay. The overtime pay is not an entitlement to Fire Fighters, it is only there to cover an absence of a fellow Fire Fighter. I state this due to reading the outdated contract that the Fire Fighters are working with at this time, as well as reading the Current Proposed Budget for 2014 for the Fire Department written by Chief Hazel.
The amount of overtime / coverage requested is $713,725.00. Chief Hazel explains (on page 3) that “The amount of shifts the South Station may be closed directly relates to the coverage funds that are allotted the Department and THE HISTORIC EXPECTATION OF MEMBER TIME OFF”…. Really? The Historic EXPECTATION of Member time off? Our Firefighters are expected to take time off during their scheduled shifts? I believe that the majority of this “expected time off” can be relieved by:
- Better scheduling (obviously)
- To do away with “Reward Days” (ie: if you show up for your scheduled shifts, you are entitled additional days off) ****(causing more costs in overtime / coverage)
- To have some type of discipline for “No call / No Show” … currently, there is no reaction to this action. ****(causing more costs in overtime / coverage)
- By following a different scheduling criteria for each Station (see below)
- By allowing all trained Fire Fighters to operate an Ambulance. (Although all active Fire Fighters are trained for EMT, the current contract forbids all but the 16 Junior Fire Fighters from operating the ambulance. All active Fire Fighters receive a pay stipend of 6% for being a trained EMT, however, again, only the 16 Junior Fire Fighters / EMTs are allowed to operate the ambulance (which receive a 7% pay stipend) ****(causing more costs in overtime / coverage)
- Removal of the obligation of the Chief to close South Street Fire Station as a first resort.
I believe that all 3 stations can run fully staffed without the need of additional monies from our Stabilization Account. By running with a minimum of 3 Fire Fighters For North and South Stations and a minimum of 5 Fire Fighters in Center, as well as the changes listed, our Town can have a full running Fire Department without the closure of a Station.
By looking at the outdated contract, the requested budget (2014), the recommended budget (2014) and the importance of not overspending at a time that we are over taxed and overburdened, but not under staffed as we are led to believe, I feel that some common sense can bring this issue some closure.
We must run all 3 fire stations as we would a business. We can no longer accept demands that we are unable to financially meet, and we must not allow the fire fighters union to dictate how things will be run while holding a threat of closing a station over our heads, when that is completely unnecessary. I feel confident that the changes listed above could reduce overtime / coverage by at least 50%.
Please, let there be no mistake of the selflessness of each Fire Fighter in every Department in this Country. They have chosen a career that will take them through the bowels of hell and raise them to a hero on any given day. However, they did choose this career.
As dangerous and unselfish as it is, please do not use this job as guilt to the taxpayers to cover your demands in negotiations. Please do not use the threat of closing a station in order to have the overtime pay you have come to expect.
Believe me, if this Town had the money, I would be the first one in line to suggest an across the board pay increase for Police, Fire and Teachers. But, we don’t.
Until that time comes, please, help us keep the safety of everyone in Town at the forefront. We need the Town leaders to step up for the safety of the residents & for the Firemen / women in Town to sit down with our leaders and put something together to keep all three stations open. This can be done.
With deepest sincerity to all of our Public Safety Workers,
Jennifer Nagle
Joe L
2:26 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Amen!!!
Mary Ellen Fernald
3:50 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Jen,
You said it all! I agree, the most important are, fire, police and educators.
Mike Callahan
4:09 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Hi Jennifer,
I just briefly read your letter and there is a lot of information there to address. Although I posted the original letter, I cannot speak for the union without it's approval. We would be glad to address each concern you've raised and we will post our response as soon as possible. In the meantime, please go back and read the original letter. It's not about overtime, we just want it opened. Hiring extra firefighters is another option. I also would be glad to discuss the issue with you in person if you would like.
Thank you, Mike Callahan
PS, yes, we are working with an "outdated" contract though I believe it's closer to a year, not 4. And historically, the firefighters have been the first to settle so I would hope you take that into account.
Jennifer Nagle
4:27 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Hi Mike,
Thank you for responding and I understand the constraints you are under before addressing the information given above. Just a couple of notes, though...
You state that (the budget increase request) is not about overtime, we just want it opened. I believe that all of the TFD personal do want it open, as much as I do (a resident of South Tewksbury), however, if you read page 3 of the budget request for FY2014 for the FD (attached to this letter) you will see where it states that Chief Hazel wrote "The amount of shifts the South Station may be closed directly relates to the coverage funds that are allotted the Department and the historic expectation of member time off". In the paragraph previous to that he states that over $700K is needed for Overtime / Coverage pay. This is why I state that it appears the issue is more about overtime pay than about keeping a station open.
You stated in your letter "Opening the South Street fire station by bringing the fire department back to full staffing would mean restoring about $350,000 to its budget." Are you implying here that the budget increase you are requesting is not in fact to fund the overtime, as was stated by the Chief in the attached Budget Request?
Jennifer Nagle
4:40 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
You went on to state "We feel that It’s now time for you, the taxpayer, to get involved.", which is what I am trying to do. Following that, you wrote "A better option would be to attend the annual town meeting in May and exercise your right to vote. Our fear is that if nothing is done soon, we may be witnessing the final phases of South Street fire station." To me this is a tactic used to coerce residents to feel obligated to extract the monies from the Stabilization Fund to cover the Overtime / Coverage pay. It sounds too much like a "bully's" response to not getting his way. I apologize if this sounds sharp, it is not meant to, but, you DID ask residents to get involved.
PS - The contract you are currently working with expired at the end of June of 2009. The contract is attached to this letter if you would like to review it.
I look forward to more responses regarding this letter. I do not aim to berate or belittle the intent of the Fire Fighters Union or of you, I would just like to have all the facts clearly outlined for our fellow residents before we pick away at the Stabilization Fund. If it is needed, and we have left no stone unturned, than I will more than willingly join the cause. The South St Fire Station is needed, please make no mistake on my stance on that.
With all due respect,
Jennifer Nagle
Mary Ellen Fernald
4:50 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The whole town should be run as a business. Just like a business, outside auditors should be used.
Who Me?
4:55 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I'm confused, Malcontents easily are, that being said.
We have been told that the 3 Fire Stations are "fully staffed" If we have been told that in error then a point of clarification is needed.
I too thought is was overtime needed to handle the vacation season. If it's overtime then by all means pay the overtime. Hiring permanent employees to cover vacation seems like a really stupid idea. A lifetime of salary, heath care and pensions will make 350,000 a mere pittance in the grand scheme of things.
If the stations are fully staffed with no extra help for coverage then overtime is the only logical answer.
If the Town is saying they don't have the money for overtime then minimum manning kicks in and the station must be closed.
Am I missing something?
Jim Z
5:33 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
If the Fire Fighter worked thier shifts and took no time off the station would stay open. Problem solved
Dave
5:58 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Jennifer, I wish more could be said here, but you are being sadly misinformed on so many levels. All I can say is a fully funded(staffed) fire department is in the best interest of the community and the safety of the towns firefighters. Please sit down with Mr. Callahan if you truly want to understand the problem.
Jim Z
6:45 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I'm a simple man,
If the fire department only has the lowest level of staffing to protect the town on duty, for both fire protection and medical emergencies. Wouldn’t you have to hire someone to fill a position if they take a day off?
You would have someone extra working standing by to fill the vacant position
or Pay overtime to fill the vacant position
If a dam is leaking in 2 spots and it takes 2 people to keep a finger in each of the leaks to stop it from destroying the town below. All of a sudden 1 of those people needs to go to the bathroom; I would pay another person to protect the town below. Be it an extra person to stand-by and wait to fill that spot or have someone off duty come in and fill that spot.
Like I said I’m a simple man
JHH
7:59 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
So you think that the FFs want to protect their OT & your solution is to hire a new guy to cover for sick & vacations, etc. This makes no sense. Hiring someone new will be far more costly because now that's another person who will need health insurance, pension, etc paid and that won't save money. You have been misinformed or are misunderstanding the point. And if you want all FFs to man the ambulance then I hope you are including the Chief. It takes only 12 men to safely cover all fire stations in a town of 30,000+. The OT (and annual salary & benefits) of the FFs is insulting enough given what they do for the town (which goes beyond being 1st responders). Do not insult them further by questioning their ethics & priorities.
MLFD
9:47 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Why is overtime expected? Why is sick time expected if one is not sick? Sounds like the taxpayers are forced to pay for benefits above and beyond what most taxpayers have - especially those of us who work within company budgets.
Jennifer Nagle
10:20 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Apologies, JHH, I think you have misunderstood what I wrote above. I do NOT believe we need to hire another fire fighter, as you pointed out, that would surely be cost prohibited, not just now, but in the future. After all, we will be paying our previous retired Chief in the neighborhood of 90K plus next year as it is.
Yes, I believe all FF should be capable of manning the ambulance. Isn't that what the training is for? Be it the Chief or anyone else right on down.
I believe that the Fire Stations can be fully staffed at 11 (as I said, 3 North, 3 South, 5 Center). Yes, obviously the more FF on duty, the better for all, but I believe 11 should be the minimum.
I am not here to debate the current salaries of the fire fighters. As I said in my letter, I believe that anyone who chooses this career can safely be considered a hero, to which there is not a "cap" on the deserved salary. Unfortunately, we can not afford to make the sky the limit at this time. My intent is not in the least to insult any fire fighter, including you.
Dave
7:45 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Jennifer, how can we keep a minimum of 11 firefighters on duty without overtime or extra firefighters? Every worker in America gets time off. Emergency workers need to be filled for when they are out. It is that simple. Overtime has never been expected, that is completely false. That is the route the TOWN has chosen for decades to save money. It has always been cheaper to pay overtime rather than have more employees. Hours worked above your normal week means overtime for hourly employees, no matter where you work. I am convinced that this is a witch hunt led by someone with an agenda, not Jennifer.
Jennifer Nagle
8:52 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Dave, I agree 100% that is not feasible to eliminate overtime collectively. There are absolutely going to be times that it will be necessary to have FF working overtime. My suggestion is to re-work some of the wording in the contract so that whoever is making the schedule (the Chief? I'm not too sure.) has more room for moving FF around to cover absences. Also, IF it is feasible to run the three stations with 11 men on per shift, and each man is capped at "regular time" at 42 hours, than, in theory you would need 4 FF (168 hours in a week, divided by 42 hours per FF = 4 FF per man on a shift) multiplied by 11 per shift to cover the full schedule. We have 50 Active Fire Fighters (including the Chief), so that would leave us 6 "floaters" to cover scheduled time off. I believe, if my math is correct, that although those 6 "floaters" would not eliminate the need for any overtime by the TFD, it should greatly reduce it, but only if some of the other restrictions that I listed are lifted out of the contract.
I truly am only trying to find a middle ground for both the FF and the Town to work together to cover all 3 stations. I know my wording can come across the wrong way, and for that I do apologize.... I am neither here on behalf of the FF or on behalf of Town Management, I am only here on behalf of the residents of South Tewksbury who want a fully staffed TFD without dipping into the Stabilization Fund unless absolutely necessary.
Dave
11:20 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Jennifer the money is there to have a decent fire department that is staffed the way a modern fire dept should be. The demand is growing, not shrinking. Every member of the fire dept has a role. The firefighters are not willing to settle for a change for the worse scenario as far as operations and safety are concerned. After all, they are the ones doing the job and some people with zero experience in this matter question what they need to do it properly. If a General says I need 1000 troops to hold this position, any one of intelligence would say ok you know what it takes. If the fire dept. is saying I need a fully staffed fire dept to handle the call volume, why is that not considered credible?
Joanna Marie
8:14 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Jen, I believe Mike was correct about the contract being closer to a year. If I believe correctly all unions agreed to work off the old contract for the better of the town and as of now the Firefighters are the only union who still haven't settled
Jim Z
11:07 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Jen’s letter she feels confident that the changes she listed could reduce overtime / coverage by at least 50%. If the fire fighters expect overtime than my proposal is to hire 12 new fire fighters. I feel confident that this would eliminate most overtime / coverage and cut it 80 to 85%. This would give the town and chief control of keeping all stations open year round.
Alex Ro
5:41 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The company I work for makes up put our vacation time in months in advance. We can only have 10% out and thats it. Names are drawn if needed. If we are out -call on more than so many times we are written up. Time off should be planned. If you call in you should be sick...not just want to do something else like fire fighters want to do. If they fixed it then no overtime would be needed so it would work. After seeing how much they make in overtime from the last article....its way too much. Most made 90,000+ in 2011.
Dave
8:19 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Alex do you know any firefighters? You state "not just do something else like firefighters want to do". That is completely insulting and not factual in any way. Do you know that it's the firefighters who have the best sick record of any dept in town. That is a fact. Why do you choose to make statements that are completely false? You are not just slightly incorrect, but by enormous numbers the firefighters have the lowest sick time usage in town.
Jane Smith
6:36 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
I think Tewksbury fire fights are top notch. I have seen them work on and off duty. They put their lifes on the line every day. Being a south Tewksbury Res. I don't need town officials putting my family's lifes on the line. South station should and needs to stay open
beatrice
7:37 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Thank you Jennifer for the extensive research you did on this issue. You obviously put alot of time into reading the contract and putting together a response to Mike's editorial. You and Mike have both provided alot of information for the resident's of Tewksbury with regard to the request for funding. Jennifer, you did point out one thing in your letter that got my attention and that is the amount of pensions retired firefighters (as well as other town employees) receive. In addition, many employees, upon retirement, get paid for all their unused sick leave and vacation time. When contracts are negotiated for new hires (with current employees grandfathered in) the amount of unused sick leave and vacation time should have a cap, and the amount of the pension should be reduced, to be replaced by a 401K that is matched, in some manner, by the town. These are things that companies are doing in the private sector and it makes sense for the town (and unions) to change in this economic climate. It will take some time for the town to realize cost reductions from these types of changes, but it should help for later generations of Tewksbury residents. With another water/sewer increase to look forward to, I believe most residents have reached the end of their rope.
Joanna Marie
12:38 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Town Employees are NOT paid for ALL their sick time. They are paid (upon retirement ) 40% of their sick time
TEE
1:29 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
According to Article 6G page 14 of the Contract, No vacation may be carried over from one year to the next; vacationnot used in any year is waived. Effective July 1,1989, the vacation year shall be based on a Fiscal year.
So no getting paid for unused vacation upon retirement.
Also nothing in Jennifer's original letter said any about pension amounts for retired Firefighters.
Dave
2:14 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
In addition employees are paid 1/4 time for 40% of their unused sick time. They are not given the full day's worth of pay only a quarter of a day. So say for example they have 120 sick days when they retire, they get 48 days at 1/4 their pay rate. So in all reality they get 12 full days paid back out of the 120 they did not use. Sounds very reasonable to me.
Lol
3:12 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Dave
We get NOTHING in the private sector.
Use it or lose it.
In fact, most do not have “sick” time; vacation and sick time are the same.
You get sick, you use vacation time.
“Don't let the door hit you on the way out”
Dave
5:26 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Lol so you are speaking for every private sector worker and employer? Wow, that is a lol moment.
beatrice
6:32 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
In Jennifer's response to JHH she mentions a retiring fire chief will receive 90K next year. I understand this is not what a firefighter gets for a pension, but pensions a big budget item for the town.
TEE
7:08 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Beatrice, The Middlesex Retirement is paying the former Chief's pension, which he paid into over his 32 year career.
Jennifer Nagle
7:44 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
UrAleg11H,
Maybe I was misinformed, and if that is the case, I do apologize. I was told that in the FY14 budget request, attached, on (I think) page 4, under the Caption of Salaries, subsection 5160 - Terminal Leave, the request is for $93,206.00, that this amount is for the retirement of the previous Chief. If it is not, could you please let me know what that amount request is for?
TEE
9:59 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Jennifer,
Terminal leave for Chief Mackey is $34,301.00 (sick leave buy back)
Sick Leave incentive program is $58,905.02.
Article 9 Section 2F page 20 of contract, once an employee covered by this agreement accumulates more than 165 sick days he/she will be entitled, provided notice is given by May 1st of each year to convert four (4) sick days of unused sick leave into pay only in the following fiscal year.
subtotal of $93,206.02
Jennifer Nagle
12:54 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Thank you, UrAleg11H, for the clarification.
Lol
8:41 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Let us negotiate in good faith.
“Don't let the door hit you on the way out”
jim
6:05 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Dave, quit. If you don't like the way your company is treating you (the town), then you have your american right to find work elsewhere. That is what unions never comprehend, you DON'T have to work for tewksbury or be a firefighter. So, if you think it is unfair, quit.
Billerica has 6 stations at 2 FF at each, I wonder how they do it?
Cecil Moore
6:38 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Jim,
I recognize your frustration and agree with some of the complaints which have been posted here. I think your message to Dave to quit is a bit harsh. By your reasoning, why don't you MOVE! If Billerica is so well run then move there. That is what the public never comprehends, you DON'T have to live in Tewksbury or be a voter. If you think it is unfair...move. Now didn't that sound a bit ridiculous? Why don't we try to understand each other and start to work together instead of working against each other.
God bless.
Dave
7:36 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Cecil I appreciate your comments. I felt what he said was out of line given that I was sincerely trying to offer facts to the conversation. People say they support the towns workers but in some cases it is so phony. No matter what you say to some people even if it is 100% true, they will twist your words and make things up to paint a nasty picture. Jim does not know me, or what kind of person I am. He does not know that I am passionate about the fire service, and I would do whatever possible to get him or his loved ones to safety if necessary, even if it killed me. I could be his neighbor for all he knows, another Tewksbury resident trying to get by. But in his eyes I am an unhappy union town employee who should quit.
Dave
6:29 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tell me where I said I was unhappy,or wanted to quit, or that something was unfair. I said none of those things. People comment on things they know nothing about and sometimes clarification is necessary and that is what I provided. You are twisting things around to make me seem unhappy. When attacked it is human nature to react. Billerica does not run 2 ff at each station. They run more out of the center station and even if they ran two out of every station like you said(untrue), with 6 stations that is 12 firefighters showing up for a fire. Proper number of firefighters . Union members can comprehend just fine, but it is typical to bring up the union. Union bashing for no reason, means nothing!
Mike Callahan
10:47 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Jennifer,
I responded as best I could to some of the issues you raised but it was too long to post here (too many characters it said) so I had to start a new blog.
http://tewksbury.patch.com/blog_posts/follow-up-on-running-the-fire-department-like-a-business
Mike Callahan