CITY FIREFIGHTERS BLAST REDUCTIONS, COMMISSIONER BLASTS FIREFIGHTERS

by Michael Monks
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Covington firefighter union Local 38 says the public's safety is jeopardized by the shuttering of Pumper One at Scott & Robbins, which the firefighters say is the city's busiest. In addition to the alleged challenge of keeping public safety at a maximum, Local 38 claims that the move is in violation of the minimum manning agreement signed on by the union and the city in November 2010. Local 38 President Chris Black said in a release that the agreement was set at a level so low that "the union never thought it would be violated."

"We run most of our fire trucks with three, but sometimes as few as two firefighters, a number dangerously low to begin with," Black said. "And now the city wants to take us below even that." As part of a contingency plan to balance a projected $4 million budget deficit, Covington commissioners voted to reduce firefighter staffs from thirty per shift to twenty-seven. That move went into effect this morning at 8AM along with the closure of Pumper One.

"Our minimum manning should be set at forty, but to ease the overtime burden on the city we agreed to thirty," Black said. "Now they're telling us they'll run with as few as they want to."

At least one Covington commissioner does not agree with Local 38's representation of the situation. "To say we are blatantly risking the safety of firefighters and citizens is a gross misrepresentation, and it speaks volumes to the lack of cooperation we are receiving from Local 38," said Commissioner Shawn Masters. "Our firefighters have already blown through the two-hundred fifty thousand dollars we have allocated in overtime for this fiscal year, and it's only September. We still have no healthcare concessions from them, with none expected in the near future. If they want to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem, then they need to start working with us, and yesterday."

"Local 38 is pursuing all avenues to restore levels of safety citizens and businesses enjoyed prior to these cuts," Black continued. "We aren't ignoring the headlines and realities of the fiscal crisis int he city. We just think the city has its priorities screwed up when it opts to waste money in other areas besides public safety."

Masters cited the recent loss of Omnicare's international headquarters in addition to the looming loss of The Nielsen Company and the lucrative payroll taxes collected from each corporation as cause for concern that the city's finances will be worse before they are better. "We spend, on average, $18,000 per employee for healthcare, well above the state average of $11-$12 thousand," Masters said. "If we could reduce that cost to even $15 thousand per employee per year, we would save $300,000 in the fire department alone, the equivalent of 5 firefighters. In an era when staff reductions are the norm and not the exception, Local 38 either needs to get with the program, or they will continue to see efforts and decisions that will severely change the way we do business in this city."

Local 38 maintains the significance of the loss of Pumper One. "Just last Friday, Pumper One was an integral part of the rescue of an elderly female from a burning home on the city's Eastside," Black said. "And a large fire in Kenton Hills over the weekend would have been worse if Pumper One or Pumper Two were not staffed, possibly spreading to more homes in the neighborhood."