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North Las Vegas firefighters burning through allotted overtime budget
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The North Las Vegas Fire Department exceeded its allotted budget for overtime just six months into the current fiscal year.
That, with reported sick leave abuse by firefighters in Clark County, motivated the City Council to postpone a scheduled Wednesday vote on contract concessions with its firefighters union that would have saved the jobs of 33 firefighters.
Without an agreement, layoffs could come as soon as July.
"We can't pretend we didn't hear what's going on in other jurisdictions," Councilwoman Anita Wood said Thursday. "I want to let our taxpayers know we have looked into it" in North Las Vegas.
The Fire Department's budget for overtime in fiscal year 2010-11, which began July 1 and ends June 30, is a little more than $1.5 million. But the department already had spent more than $1.7 million by Dec. 31.
The council postponed the concessions vote 60 days so city officials can audit the department personnel's use of sick leave and overtime to ensure neither is being abused.
The cash-strapped city, which has in recent years undergone several rounds of budget cuts, service reductions and layoffs, can't afford to pay out much extra in overtime costs, Wood said. All city departments have been told to reduce their overtime use, she said.
"Where will that money come from?" she asked.
The city is dealing with a $35 million shortfall through fiscal year 2011-12.
Fire Chief Al Gillespie acknowledged his department has "been burning through overtime pretty quickly" but said it was necessary to maintain services and was not related to any abuse of sick leave.
North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck, who was the lone vote against postponement Wednesday, also defended the department, saying overtime was necessary because the city has frozen positions and some firefighters have retired or taken buyouts.
"We forced them to have to pay more overtime," said Buck, who has opposed cuts to public safety. "We tied their hands."
Wood said the city might have to consider reducing Fire Department staffing levels, an idea Buck vehemently opposes.
"We are already bare bones," she said. "We have to do what we have to do to keep our citizens safe."
The concessions agreement between the firefighters union, IAFF Local 1607, and the city, worth about $3 million, includes suspending cost-of-living raises for 2011. In exchange, the city would agree in part not to lay off firefighters in the union through the end of the fiscal year.
North Las Vegas employs 103 firefighters and firefighter-paramedics and 34 fire engineers, city officials said. Firefighters in the city average $162,000 a year in salaries and benefits, according to a committee formed last year to study the city's budget. The department's 2010-11 budget is $45.9 million.
Police and Teamsters union representatives came to concession agreements with the city in recent months.
Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.
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Let's hash this out one at a time. As a firefighter for 26 years my base is 77000 for a 56 hour work week. Back in I think 2002 the city agreed to constant staffing. Basically it was a way to save money and I think the estimate was about 20%. The city was saving the cost of additional benifits that would have to be paid by hiring a new employee. We get no additional benifit like sick or vacation time or healthcare.
Scheduled ovedtime does not increase our retirement. Only what is called callback pay. That is a pers rule not a city or union rule. Call back pay is less than 12 hours notice. The legislature addressed this issue and got rid of it in 2009 for new hires.
Most overtime in the city of las vegas is scheduled. Last year when our contract was passed we gave up quite a bit or a least enough that the city agreed.
As far as overtime I worked last year the equivalent of a 40 hour employee working an extra 90 eight hour days. Are you saying we should of done that for free? Would you?
There can be several reasons some one makes 300,000. At the airport, that air port does not operate without manned fire crews requiring very special training and only those trained can work there. Lots of overtime can be had there. Also when a person retires his sicktime and vacafion time is paid to him and then that will show up for totals in the year. The highest earners would be chiefs in most cases.
Most of our stations are pretty busy. Our station one units have been named the busiest station in the country several times over the past 10 years. If we are not 1 we are number 2 or 3. Only the most remote stations can be considered quiet.
Not blaming firemen for everything. The city/county have an obligation to provide this service to the community at a reasonable cost. Seeing firemen or captains or chiefs making $300,000+ is extreme. Reasonable compensation is in the $70,000(especially for what local firemen actually do) range and staffing requirements can be changed to cut back on the overtime liability. I hope you are not actually suggesting that firemen are leaders in the community...That would be quite funny! They have lost any respect that they might have had when they decided that they were too important to join the rest of the country in this economic depression. SHOULD HAVE JUST TOOK THE PAY CUT AND AVOIDED THIS WHOLE MESS. If current firemen don't want to work for reduced wages then they find other employment. They are certainly not required to stay or entitled to their current overtime laden pay.
Dumb without critical thinking skills looking at the easy target to blame for everything? Unable to look at the big picture from all sides and come up with solutions? Yea he will be a leader in the community just like you.
Most high schoolers haven't found out how to scam tax dollars yet, I'll raise him a little better than mommy and daddy did the local firemen.
LOL angry little guy ain't you. Boy must be a chip off the old block or he'd be able to afford a new one.
Same old story here...The public upset with the amount of money being wasted. Firemen desperately trying to convince people(mostly themsleves)that they should be paid this much money. Dismissing anyone's, well everyone's bad opinion of them and their greed. Why isn't the public coming to your defense firemen? Why do you have to defend yourselves? ON the flip side though: My kid is looking forward to getting one of those trucks these firemen put all that money into(big tires, lift kit). I figure there should be quite a few for sale soon so I'll get a good deal. Actully said that he doesn't want the "gay license plate". Good job firemen, you are model public servants!!
I would assume that is the union protecting our jobs. That is the reason they exist. I think if the city really wanted to privatize they would of have said no on that point.
I have not really heard much about privatization. AMR clearly can't handle what they have now. AMR would be happy just to transport everyone but sometimes critically ill an injured just can't wait for AMR to show up.
@Sac.....if so many of your calls are for swollen fingers or picking up drunks from the sidewalk, why would the union include a clause in their contract which prohibits a study of privatizing the ems calls?
This isnt a slam on anyone, just a serious question.
Boy I really touched a nerve. For someone whose opinion doesn't matter I sure am brought up a lot. But then I don't expect much from the likes of SAC, who says he laughs at those who resort to name calling and then resorts to name calling himself. And then FFANDPROUND acts was of I have a problem with his buddies stocking up on food. It doesn't matter that I never even mentioned that. And then he calls me out for not answering an earlier post, but seems to not understand that I really can't answer a question that hasn't been asked. Just is weird that of bothers them is much to be reminded that they weren't actually there when the towers fell.
FF. Taxed out and BGHS are clearly the romper room crowd. I wonder if they are part of the tea party bunch that want everything cut but when asked 87% really don’t want most cuts when it comes down to it. (saw the poll on fox news).
I think the private sector is getting a hose job from all areas, but then again it is the private sector that demands the service and entitlements. We as professionals can’t tell the citizen that his swollen finger that has been that way for 5 days, is not a life threatening emergency and we are not going to transport him to the emergency room. As you know this happens all the time. Little Johnny with a cough, we transported one with a cramp in her leg. Recently we had to transport a drunk passed out on the sidewalk. When we asked him if he wanted to go to the hospital, his reply in his slurred voice was “Yea, take me to the hospital, I need a checkup.”
If we refuse to take him, we personally as well as the city or county is subject to lawsuits if anything happens to them. There are no real easy solutions but in my opinion legal reform needs to happen before anything can really be fixed.
One homeless person in NYC was tracked for a year and cost the tax payers 337,000 going to the hospital every day.
We as public employees also need to make sure our stuff is straight too.