Fire department, city still far apart

The dispute between Cape Girardeau firefighters and city hall over time off shows no signs of resolving.

"All we're trying to do is look out for the brother or sister firefighter, the one that's hired two or three years from now. We want them to be treated exactly like we're treated," said Randy Sander, secretary-treasurer for the Firefighters Union Local 1084.

The disagreement centers around vacation time and sick leave accrual rates for newly hired firefighters. At the end of 2006, the city chose to reduce these rates from 48 hours per month down to 32. The move only affects newly hired firefighters and will save the city about $46,000 this year.

Firefighters, who work ten 24-hour shifts per month, work about 480 hours per year more than general employees. The cuts still allow new firefighters to accrue 60 percent more sick leave and vacation time than general employees.

Although unable to go on strike, the union pledges to make visible showings of protest at upcoming city council meetings and other events. These displays may include joint protests with other fire departments from the area, they said.

City leaders vow not to budge on the cuts they say are vital to the city's financial health. They believe this protest by firefighters is short-sighted.

"It's just really unfortunate. I guess it just seems somewhat distorted to me. If I'm one of the folks at DANA who just lost their jobs and I had to see this, I'd ask, 'Is this really significant when you're looking at the alternative?'" city manager Doug Leslie said.

During four meetings with firefighters last year in the run-up to the change, the city made compromises allowing new firefighters to continue to accrue higher percentages of time off than general employees and agreeing to round up monthly vacation accrual totals.

Firefighters' counter offers included a city buy-back of vacation time and using a "swing-man" to cover time on various shifts. City hall said the proposals would likely cost rather than save money.

The cuts went forward with firefighters believing they were unfairly singled out. They argue that Cape Girardeau voters gave them a unique mandate in 2004 by approving the quarter-cent Public Safety Sales Tax. The tax has helped pay for $5.9 million in structural, equipment and salary upgrades since its passage.

"We're not asking for an increase in pay or an increase in benefits, we're just hoping to hold our own," union president Dean Lynn said.

The city counters that the sales tax has been used to increase pay for firefighters. Firefighters have seen an average pay raise of 15 percent, or about $4,587, since the tax passed, according to city data.

Pay is central to the dispute. Cape Girardeau firefighters and police officers today start out at $30,742 and have their pay increased by about 4 percent annually for cost of living and positive evaluations.

Firefighters say their wages still lag behind those of comparable cities. Under Cape Girardeau rules, a firefighter must work 22 years to reach maximum pay of about $46,000. Comparable cities like Springfield, Mo. reach a similar maximum salary after only 11 years.

"A firefighter in Springfield is going to take home about $50,000 more than a firefighter in Cape over the course of his career. That's a significant difference," Sander said.

A third party consultant revised the city's pay in 2004. Firefighters generally were supportive of the increased steps at the time.

City hall conducted its own research of cities including Carbondale, Ill., Sikeston, Mo., Springfield and Paducah, Ky. It found that Cape Girardeau firefighters make about 97 percent of the median salaries of those cities. This is below average, they concede, but better than the pay of the city's general employees, who make about 92 percent of the median of those cities.

"We have a constrained budget that we're trying to deal with, we have increased health costs and all those things. If we didn't deal with this we would be ignoring something that is contributing significantly to the pressures on the budget," Leslie said.

Firefighters also complain that increases in health care costs are erasing their 4 percent annual raises. This year, a firefighter with 12 years experience saw his or her annual pay rise by $1,499 while the cost of health coverage for a family under the city's plan rose by $1,500.

"If you add benefits in, we're just staying status quo, so what in that would attract new firefighters to come to this department? Other than that they can use it as a stepping stone," Lynn said.

The city points out that the extraordinary rise in health care costs hit all city employees equally. They attribute the increase to a particularly catastrophic year of claims that they do not expect to see repeated in 2007.

Fire chief Rick Ennis has steadfastly backed the city during the dispute. He says the cuts have not hurt his efforts to recruit new firefighters and are good for the department's overall health.

He particularly objects to firefighters at the last city council meeting bringing their wives to discuss the dangers of the job.

"I love these guys to death, but they're trying to put all this emotion and use all these emotional tactics, but all they're doing is clouding the issue," he said.

Nobody seems happy about the public rift.

"There are no winners here, I'll say that, nobody is coming out of this ahead," said Randy Morris, vice-president of the firefighters union.

City officials also expressed regret.

"What's really sad about this discussion is how much our people really, truly respect the firemen and what they do. [In 2004] Doug Leslie did 50 presentations around the city to get the fire sales tax passed, and all that is getting lost here," said assistant to the city manager Heather Brooks.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245