http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-fire1feb16,0,7460781.story?coll=green-news-local-headlines
By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
February 16, 2006
The town finance board's budget committee voted unanimously last night to allow the fire department to use $224,500 in its budget to replace dwindling overtime funds sapped by firefighters out sick.
"We went through our budget and found some things we thought we could work around," Fire Chief Sandy Anderson said. "We didn't want to end up seeking a more exorbitant amount of money farther down the line." Anderson pledged to make the funds last until the fiscal year ends on June 30.
The money that will be used to pay for overtime was meant to pay $100,000 in water bills, $40,000 in training, and to buy nearly $80,000 in new equipment.
In December the department's annual $725,000 overtime budget had dwindled to $100,000 with six months to go, prompting fire administrators to briefly cut staffing at the central and North Street fire houses.
Also in December, First Selectman Jim Lash ordered fire department leaders to reduce the average number of sick days taken by firefighters from 14 to nine.
Assistant Fire Chief Mike Puterbaugh said firefighters' sick days have fallen dramatically in the month and a half since Anderson and he sent out a letter warning firefighters who had used more than 14 sick days in the past year that they could face formal sanctions and possible termination for excessive sick time use.
"Not to say there is an abuse, but all of a sudden everyone is healthier," Puterbaugh said.
But Puterbaugh suggested finance officials should weigh whether hiring more firefighters in the future would be less costly than paying overtime.
"Last year we came up with that figure ($725,000) with the understanding that in the current year we would be back in front of your body (to address a shortfall in overtime funds) at some point," Puterbaugh said. "Where does the line cross when it is more cost-effective to hire people than to pay overtime?"
Budget Committee Chairman Steve Walko asked Puterbaugh why the department called in career firefighters to work overtime during this weekend's blizzard instead of using its volunteer firefighters.
Puterbaugh and Anderson said the magnitude of the storm, and knowledge that many volunteers work side jobs as plowmen, dictated they bring in the career staff.
"We needed bodies that are going to be there to do the job when we need it done," Anderson said. "We needed paid people there to do the job for us when we needed it done no ifs, ands, or buts."
Meanwhile, the fire union, Greenwich Firefighters Local 1042, has filed a grievance regarding the warning letter sent to firefighters, Lt. John Novak, president of the union, has said. The union contends that the warning violates their contract and was discipline without due process, Novak has said.
While the grievance is pending, Novak said firefighters who received the letters have not met with Anderson or Puterbaugh to discuss their sick time.
The committee also approved $36,000 in new funds to pay firefighters' salaries and annual stipends, such as $1,500 for maintaining certified training in HAZMAT response and $1,200 for trench/enclosed-space rescue training, according to Puterbaugh.
The committee also approved the Board of Education's request to accept a $67,000 gift from Glenville Child Care and the Glenville School PTA to buy and install an exterior sign for the school.
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.