NEW HAVEN - The Board of Aldermen added 17 entry-level firefighter positions to the city budget for next year

Angela Carter, Register Staff

June 05, 2002

NEW HAVEN — The Board of Aldermen added 17 entry-level firefighter positions to the city budget for next year, allowing the fire department to send up to 30 recruits to its training academy.

The openings were created as an amendment to the $354.7 million operating budget for 2002-03 because the original proposal submitted by Mayor John DeStefano Jr. on March 1 had eliminated 15 vacancies to cut costs. The two additional slots would be new ones.

Alderman Philip Voigt, D-27, chairman of the board's Finance Committee, said without the budget revisions, only 13 positions would have been funded next year as part of the recruit class.

Voigt said the $694,465 needed to restore the vacancies would come from lapsed salaries to 12 retirees, delayed promotions and the elimination of two administrative positions.

The full-fledged base pay for firefighter/emergency medical technicians is $48,745, but beginners will earn $27,500 in their first year of training and probation, Voigt said.

Eligible applicants have passed a civil service exam, agility test and background check.

"We feel it's a public safety issue. Now we can ensure an adequate number of firefighters in each division," Voigt said.

The aldermen also increased the overtime allocation for next year by $200,000 for a total of $800,000. Fire department overtime expenses peaked at $1.3 million this year.

Voigt said expanding the department's staffing level would help curtail the use of overtime because firefighters are pulling extra shifts to cover vacancies.

They also are paid a differential when filling in for a higher level employee.

"In other words, there are clear monetary advantages to trying to get the fire department properly staffed," he said.

Budget amendments also restored 15 police officers and eight crossing guards and set aside $60,000 to pay a coordinator for the city's Civilian Review Board. Funding for the coordinator will come from a $250,000 reserve for replacing workers who accepted an early retirement package.

The city will save nearly $5 million next year in salaries tied to 125 retirees. The aldermen required administrators to get board approval before filling unique positions, so the intended savings won't be wiped out.

On the revenue side, the tax rate went up 5.2 percent to 36.78 mills to cover a $6.89 million shortfall in state aid.

Angela Carter can be reached at 789-5614 or acarter@nhregister.com.