Crime & Safety

SAFER Grant Still On Hold, Union Officials to Meet This Week

Town committees say the town can't afford the long-term costs of the federal grant.

Despite concerns for morale at the Westport Fire Department and impending meetings with union officials this week, two town committees have voted against accepting a federal grant that would have added eight firefighters to the force.

The vote is not binding but serves as a recommendation to the Representative Town Meeting, which will consider the issue next week.

Tuesday's joint meeting of the Representative Town Meeting Finance and RTM Public Protection Committees was the third time this year the Westport Fire Department has publicly pitched the seeking approval.

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Fire officials have said the need for the grant is critical both for the safety of the town and for the firefighters as well as to ensure the department is complying with federal occupational safety regulations.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency grant would cover the cost of hiring eight additional firefighters for two years, bringing the staff to 74 employees, while committing the town to fund their employment for a third year. It would also allow the department to send out three firefighters per engine to respond to calls, as opposed to just two firefighters, which is the case at the Coleytown and Greens Farms stations.

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Know as a SAFER Act grant – from the 2004 "Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act" – Westport also would be required to maintain the same staffing level of firefighters it has when the grant goes into effect for two years.

The Board of Finance and now the two RTM committees have said the $1.2 million grant is not affordable for Westport in the long-term.

After a lengthy discussion Tuesday night, the committees voted on the following resolution: "The committees recomend that the RTM not support the SAFER grant at this time."

The RTM Finance Committee approved the resolution 4-0, acknowledging the vote was not a quorum as RTM member Jeff Wieser had to leave the meeting early. The RTM Public Protection Meeting approved the resolution 5-1 with one abstention. RTM member George Underhill opposed the  motion and RTM member Ann Marie Flynn abstained.

Before the vote, another resolution was being discussed at length urging the RTM not to accept the grant unless substantial changes could be made to the organization of town government that would offset the added cost of the additional eight firefighters.

According to documents released at the meeting, the town would be obligated to pay about $2.5 million over the next five years to keep these firefighters past the length of the grant, which accounts for their salaries, raises and benefits over time.

Board of Finance members who attended the meeting Tuesday said that's not a number Westport can afford when the budget is expected to increase between $9 million and $13 million in rising medical and pension costs next year, according to calculations by board member Brian Stern.

"Everything else being equal, on my calculation between nine and 13 million is the initial hurdle," Stern said. "And, that's not including the SAFER grant."

Last week, the Board of Finance said it could not approve accepting the SAFER grant without concessions from the fire union on benefits and pensions. 

While pension contracts are not up for renegotiation for a couple years, fire labor negotiations remain under way and Acting Fire Chief Andrew Kingsbury said union officials have agreed to meet with First Selectman Gordon Joseloff on Thursday to discuss the potential hire of the eight new employees.

Board of Finance Chairwoman Helen Garten said even if the unions agree to some concessions, she doesn't think it will be enough to pay for the life of the grant.

RTM member Michael Guthman said during the meeting that going back to the table with the fire union could "serve as the wedge in the door to change the whole pension structure in the town."

"Then it's a worthwhile investment," he said.

Garten said she did not believe if a special deal was reached between the town and the union this week that it would open up other union negotiations.

"We have to look at things as they are now," she said. "Gordon is working within the budget. I don't expect a Deus ex machina."

After the meeting, Kingsbury said he was concerned with some of the discussions RTM members were having about the issue.

"I didn't like how they were pitting the unions against each other," he said. "It's inappropriate and it's not their place (the unions) to put up concessions. That's my concern."

Kingsbury also told the committees that morale is low in the department and he had one firefighter tell him an hour before the meeting that he was quitting to work for the City of Norwalk's fire department.

"We've lost four firefighters to the City of Norwalk in the last four years," Kingsbury said. "The employees are nervous about what's going on in this town."

"The guys are great," Kingsbury added after the meeting. "But they are worried about the impending doom and gloom in this town. ... This (grant) is about supporting our manpower in the future. It really is a safety issue."

In response to concern from Kingsbury, RTM members said they do support the fire department, which is why they approved giving $733,000 Tuesday night so the department could purchase a new back-up generator and replace a fire engine.

Garten added that the Board of Finance "fought long and hard to keep our promise to every employee in this town" to fund the pension obligations so employees know their retirement benefits are secure. 

"I hope the fire department understands we will not let them down and we will fund our promises to them," she said. "Beyond that we are willing to work on new ideas and new organizations."

RTM Finance Chairman Michael Rea suggested that a reorganization of the town would be necessary to fund public safety to the degree the grant would call for.

"We're not in the position to keep adding bodies or staffing to the fire department," Rea said. "It makes sense to do it now (with the grant) but it has to be a priority that if you want eight bodies, give us eight bodies somewhere else.

"There is a tough decision that needs to be made," he continued. "I was hoping the last meeting would have set off a series of tough decisions and negotiations but I saw some heels being dug in and the tenor and the nature of the conversation turned pretty cold, so I haven't seen any negotiations. Maybe something will happen miraculously with the union negotiations but I won't hold my breath."

Rea asked if the fire department would consider adding more volunteer firefighters to the team.

Kingsbury and Volunteer Fire Chief Ken Gilbertie said they would love to have more volunteer firefighters but Gilbertie said people have multiple jobs and family obligations that take up too much time to commit to volunteer firefighting. 

"In 1982, we had 100 volunteers," Gilbertie said. "Now, I'm dancing in the street if I have 20 guys on my roster. ...I'd love to have a larger force but can volunteers make up the manpower you might have in mind? No. It's just not practical."

As for reorganizing the department and consolidating into a smaller number of stations, Kingsbury said the fire department is willing to look into regionalization and it has but the obstacle has been getting the town governments to work together.

The issue of the SAFER grant now moves to the full RTM on July 20.


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