Lorain/Elyria, OH
Fire Department overtime down, but not by enough, some say
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ELYRIA — Almost a year after staffing levels dropped from 17 to 14 firefighters at the city’s four fire stations, and weeks after the city saw its largest industrial fire in history, overtime costs in the Fire Department have dropped only $50,000, city figures show.
Dropping minimum manning requirement was a decision Mayor Bill Grace made in August 2007 as a way of ensuring the Fire Department stayed within its budget, but the dramatic cost savings just haven’t materialized to a point of justification, interim Fire Chief Joe Pronesti said.
“Is that enough money? Is it worth the gamble in property loss and lives we are taking every day?” he said. “There’s no price you can put on those things. But every day we operate without that fourth station open, we are saying those things have a price that the city is willing to pay.”
While complete August figures are not available, figures from the city auditor’s office show that by July 31, 2007, the Fire Department spent $378,719.40 on overtime, a number that jumped to $586,328.65 by year’s end.
This year through July 31, the Fire Department has accumulated $328,915.99 in overtime and is on course to spend $570,120.85 by year’s end.
If the projected figure holds, the Fire Department will spend about $16,000 less on overtime this year than it did last year, said Chief Deputy Auditor John Farrell.
However, that number is still way above the $400,000 budgeted for department overtime at the beginning of the year, Farrell said.
Such minimal cost savings have some wondering if the decision to cut staffing, which came with a lot of public outrage, was worth it.
“We really got a lot of flak for that decision, but we stood behind it because it was supposed to bring a lot of cost savings,” said City Councilman Mark F. Craig, I-4th Ward. “We talked about doing an audit and hiring more firefighters and all these things, and so far nothing has materialized. We need to do more than say this is going to happen and discuss stuff that is not.”
City officials have taken much criticism since minimum manning dropped, mainly because the move has essentially closed Fire Station No. 2 on Broad Street. While not officially closed, Pronesti said the station has not opened since April because of staffing levels.
Nonetheless, Grace said he doesn’t regret lowering minimum manning. The decision was about more then just overtime. It was about the overall budget of the department, including personnel and equipment, he said.
“Money only goes so far, and I had to make those tough decision, and in that time I can say that Elyria still has one of the best departments in Ohio,” he said.
Grace said this year’s overtime costs also include about $50,000 in retroactive pay firefighters were owed when their 2006 contract was finally signed this year. In addition, firefighters covering for those on medical leave and in Iraq have caused overtime to go beyond what was budgeted. However, as three of the six firefighters on medical leave are expected to return by the fall, overtime expenses should level off by year’s end, he said.
But that doesn’t mean Grace is unwilling to admit new hires have to be made in the department.
He is looking at hiring between four and eight firefighters, he said. The actual number of new hires and when they will come on board depends on city finances, he said.
“It will be about finding ways to cut costs in other areas,” he said.
Pronesti said overtime will stay at elevated levels as long as city officials refuse to hire more fire personnel.
The Fire Department operates with three rotating shifts, he said. However, because it’s down seven firefighters who are on military deployments or medical leaves, there are barely enough firefighters to provide minimum manning.
“We’re not using overtime for emergencies or when people unexpectedly call in sick. We’re using it just to staff the department and get 14 people here,” Pronesti said. “We’re using it to cover contractual time off.”
Of the six firefighters on medical leave, Pronesti said three will probably not return to work, as each has applied for disability compensation from the state. In addition, the Fire Department anticipates several retirements — at least two firefighters in early 2009 and the possibility of nine more retiring in 2010.
“The bottom line is we need to hire as soon as possible to get personnel back up to where it should be,” Pronesti said.
“We’ve got to stabilize the department, and we have to do it sooner, rather than later. I understand that the economy dictates a lot, but fire and medical emergencies don’t care about the economy, and we still have to go out the door every time someone calls.”
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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Wow gutsy interim Fire Chief Joe Pronesti. Mayor Grace will be replacing you tomorrow.
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by the figures here each firefighter on average is makeing about 14,000.00 overtime . Thays more than some families live on for the year .
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Haxor,
Was there some commentary that was supposed to follow that insightful thought you spent vaulable time posting?
A family making a choice to live on $14,000 has nothing to do with Elyria’s fire department being understaffed. The poor but surely hardworking family you refer to surely has no bargaining interest in the firefighters’ contract with the city.
Your $14,000 “fact” is intended to change the subject. If you feel the brave men who protect the city should be making less, say so. If you don’t think they should be given overtime, say so. Then the department will not cover shifts when these men are sick or- God forbid- taking a vacation, and Elyria can be even further underprotected and understaffed than it already is.
Your comment was truly insightful, and a great contribution. The people of Elyria thank you, and I’m sure the Chronicle Telegram appreciates that you have taken the time to make such a wonderful post.
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lovinglife - I was thinking the same thing. He’s already done it to one interim chief who dared to cross him.
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I applaud the chief and as for people making only 14,000 not caring and their amount of income being their choice well you can screw yourself with those kinds of remarks buddy… I made 17000 as a single mother of one last year and am not receiving child support and i did and still do care about how this city is being taken care of … this year i make considerably more and it doesnt change a thing. and yes I do support cutting the amount of overtime down and hiring more staff by cutting the administrations pockets in half.
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Not caring? Sorry about your bad luck and poor choices, lady. But I said nothing about poor families not caring. I said they have no “bargaining interest”. (That means poor folks are not party to the firefighters’ contract, and as such, their incomes have nothing to do with our discussion.)
We are talking about overtime, not how much poor people live on. Haxor’s red herring about a family making $14,000 a year has nothing to do with the problem the city faces: namely, mismanagement by our municipal government and attempting to shift blame to the brave men that run into buildings when everyone else is running out.
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I see Tim is an Elyria Firefighter, sure are defensive !
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I would like to just how many actual working fires are there in the City of Elyria every year? How many fireman are in the City of Lorain and is their budget comparible to Elyria’s.
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I’m not a fireman but I’ll tell you what $14,000 is pretty cheap when it’s a matter of life or death
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The savings so far is $50,000 a year, that is one firefighter job saved. Now if the Fire Department would step it up and do something creative with the schedule like make 8 or 12 hour shifts it would be much appreciated. I respect firefighters, however, crying about losing a firestation but not really seeing any change in overtime means, POOR MANAGEMENT of the fire department. The economy is bad right now and does not seem to be on the way up for a while and of course this effects the city of Elyria and their income. Many more residents of Elyria might lose jobs and have their incomes cut to 14,000 a year. Maybe if the fire department would check into scheduling shift work it would be able to save money and have enough money left over to hire more firefighters,
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Whether it’s 8, 12, or 24 hour shifts, the pay will be the same. The fire department is on call 24 hours. That won’t cut the number of hours down, just spread them out over more days.
Once again, the major problem with the OT is that there are 6 firefighters on medical leave and more in Iraq that have to be paid. Let’s assume there’s two firefighters in Iraq. That means that 8 people need to have their shift covered with OT. If the medical leave people lose a half year each and the Iraq people a whole year, that’s 4 full positions being paid out in OT at time and a half, probably $300,000 out of the $570,000. Add the $50,000 that they were paid in back pay, and that leaves only $220,000 of actual overtime (about $5200 per firefighter). Much more reasonable.
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Great reply, Haxor! You’re really good at this!
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