By Natasha Lee
Staff Writer
November 30, 2007
STAMFORD - Just days before agreements between the city and three volunteer fire departments expire Tuesday, city officials - who in June announced plans to terminate the agreements as part of a restructuring - were unclear about city-paid firefighters staffing those departments after then.
"I'm not sure how to technically answer your questions," city Public Safety Director William Callion said when asked what will happen after the agreements expire Tuesday.
Volunteer chiefs said they're in the dark.
"The city hasn't said anything. We know the agreement is void at that point, but what that means, nobody is telling," Belltown Fire Chief John Didelot said.
The management agreements cover how Belltown, Glenbrook and Turn of River volunteer firehouses are maintained, along with command and control of city-paid firefighters assigned there.
If the city terminates the agreements after Tuesday, it could mean the 31 city-paid firefighters who staff Belltown, Glenbrook and Turn of River volunteer fire departments could be reassigned to Stamford Fire & Rescue firehouses, city Director of Legal Affairs Tom Cassone said.
"But the city is mindful for the need of fire service, we are continuing to explore how we can optimize fire service," he said.
Mayor Dannel Malloy, noting that he does not want to "prejudge" what will happen after Dec. 4, said city officials and the paid firefighters' union are working on an agreement to improve staffing and fire coverage in the three districts.
"Let me assure you that there are going to be changes brought about in the month of December," Malloy said.
The mayor said the city decided to end the agreements to control overtime spending in the volunteer firehouses and increase manpower at the understaffed departments.
The city's five volunteer fire departments rely heavily on city funding and city-paid firefighters to respond to emergency calls, but under the City Charter, each operate independently.
"We are going to bring about savings, which is why we terminated the agreements and there will be changes that we hope to do as a result of discussion," Malloy said. "We're going to save money and make people feel safer."
But halfway through the fiscal year the city has spent $17,000 more on overtime costs at the volunteer houses than it did last year. And Glenbrook and Belltown have each lost nearly a third of its paid staff to layoffs.
The Turn of River Fire Department filed a motion at state Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday to stop termination of its management agreement, arguing the move violates its agreement.
The Turn of River department recently won a lawsuit against the city to prevent layoffs imposed after it refused to join the city plan to improve staffing.
Turn of River attorney Mark Kovack said the agreement can't be canceled unless consent is mutual.
"It's clearly under the language of the contract, they don't have the right to cancel, which makes it unique among the other management agreements. But I wouldn't be surprised if the city takes a different view," he said.
Malloy targeted the three volunteer fire departments for savings after the Board of Finance cut $850,000 from the Department of Public Safety, Health & Welfare's budget this fiscal year.
In June, he introduced a cost-saving plan that would decrease overtime spending and increase staff at Belltown, Glenbrook and Turn of River by moving 21 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters into the stations. The moves would beef up the number of paid firefighters per shift from one or two to four.
The plan also would end the management agreements and unite all paid firefighters under one labor contract.
City officials said overtime costs in the three fire districts had spiraled, totaling $700,000 last fiscal year.
Malloy and Callion have said fire coverage would improve under the plan because paid firefighters would be distributed more effectively.
The plan also would cut eight vacant Stamford Fire & Rescue jobs, saving the city $545,876 in salaries.
But when the plan failed after volunteer fire departments did not approve it, the city said it was forced to lay off five firefighters. A Glenbrook firefighter was later rehired to fill a post vacated by retirement.
Callion said the salary savings of the four laid-off firefighters has been about $4,400 per week since July.
From July to November, overtime spending in the three firehouses has reached $213,000, with Turn of River having the highest costs, at $100,000. For the same period last year, overtime for the three was $196,000, Callion said.
Callion said overtime would have been stayed within budgetary limits if the volunteer firehouses had agreed to the city's plan. The city did not have an alternative if three departments failed to agree, and the city rejected at least three alternative proposals offered by the volunteer departments.
Callion could not say whether his department was on target to meet its budget.
"The Plan B was the original plan. Just one plan. In six weeks, you don't come up with three other plans. In six weeks, we came up with one plan," he said, referring to the weeks after the public safety department's budget was cut.
Glenbrook is the only fire department to join the plan, but ongoing labor discussions between the fire union and city continue to postpone a final agreement. Belltown is no longer negotiating with the city; ongoing litigation between Turn of River and the city has prevented further discussions.
Springdale and Long Ridge fire departments were not part of the city's savings plan. Springdale is staffed with 16 paid Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters and Long Ridge operates under a different agreement with the city.
Stamford Fire Fighters Association President Brendan Keatley said a labor agreement with the city won't be reached by Tuesday, but the union is working on a new agreement with the city that will create one contract for all paid firefighters in those districts and bring back the laid-off firefighters.
"If our proposal is agreed upon by the city and enacted, the residents of Stamford would enjoy a higher level of service and safety having crews with four people than two," he said.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.