Branford firefighters get new contract

01/18/2005

Firefighters get new contract

By: John Rook , Staff Writer

BRANFORD - Town firefighters have a new contract and a new annual wage increase as the Firefighters Union and the Representative Town Meeting recently settled on the agreement that will be retroactive to July 1, 2003.
Under the new agreement, firefighters in town will receive a 3 percent annual wage increase over the life of the contract, which expires in 2007, and added health benefits. For this year, the town will pay $1.36 million in salaries for firemen.
"We're happy we came to the agreement we did," said Paul Cipriani, president of Local 2533 of the International Association of Fire Fighters in a recent interview. "We negotiated pretty diligently with the town. A lot of offers were made on both sides," Cipriani said.
Under the new contract, firefighters starting salaries have changed. A rookie firefighter will now earn 70 percent of $43,572, while a firefighter on the job for a few years will earn $50,185.
Also, firefighters who are certified as emergency medical technicians (EMT) or paramedics will receive a yearly stipend as an incentive to keeping their certifications valid. In the coming fiscal year, EMTs will receive a $1,000 stipend, which will be increased to $1,500 the next year and $2,000 in the last year of the pact. Paramedics will get an annual stipend of $2,000, $3,000 and $4,000 in each of the years, none of which will be part of the retroactive year.
As far as benefits go, the contract gives firefighters the option of staying with a Blue Cross Century 96 plan, which requires an annual co-pay of 15 percent, or change to a new, more complete major medical plan through Blue Cross that will cost individuals 4 percent in the first year and increasing steadily to 6 percent by the end of the contract.
According to officials, the new contract helps narrow the salary gap that exists for town firefighters compared to many other towns surrounding Branford. Overall, the salary increases will equal 2.7 percent, 6.43 percent, 5.37 percent and 5.81 percent over the duration of the contract.
However, officials suggest that the average salary increase will only equal 3 percent overall because of the higher co-pay rates in the firefighters medical coverage.
One of the concerns for the department over the last year has been establishing a new line of supervision for firefighters and adding new staff. Fire Chief Jack Ahern, during last years budget process, stated that the department needed new staff to effectively deal with any substantial events in town, such as a major fire or flood. The RTM did not approve any new positions.
Ahern now, however, suggested that he is working on a plan to add staff in the near future that would not cost tax payers any new money. Also, Ahern suggested that another line of supervision was necessary to guard against a deputy chief getting separated from an engine company when two calls are out at once. The problem, officials stated, would only become more prominent as the town grows.
Currently, the department has 29 career firefighters, four of whom are deputy chiefs, and one assistant chief. By July 2006, officials stated that four new captains will appointed. Each will be responsible for one shift.