City Adds 12 Firefighters, Offers Explanation

by Michael Monks
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A very experienced crop of young men will fill the twelve vacancies within the Covington Fire Department, left open following mass retirements this past summer. The hirings come at a time when the city is still cutting costs amid a serious financial disaster, one that was already ominous but is now even more so following Omnicare's announced departure from RiverCenter to Cincinnati and the expected abandonment of Covington by the Nielsen Company from Madison Place.

"This is the third year in a row that revenue has decreased from the year before," said finance director Bob Due. "This is indeed a crisis."

Just two weeks ago, the city shuttered Pumper One at Scott & Robbins and reduced manning from thirty to twenty-seven per shift. That led to a 2-hour court hearing last week in which the firefighters' union, Local 38, accused the city of breach of contract, violating the "minimum  manning" agreement of thirty per shift. City Solicitor Frank Warnock, arguing on behalf of the city, said that new contract negotations had reached an impasse and that the minimum manning agreement was null and void because of Covington's poor financial health. A judge dismissed the union's claim.

"No, we can't afford it," Due said of the hirings, adding that the city also cannot afford health care or pension contributions for these twelve men or to retain what he called "the status quo". But, "the question is not 'can we afford to hire'", Due continued. "The question is, 'can we afford not to'?"

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Due presented a slide indicating that from July 12th to September 30th, overtime costs at the fire department was more than $315,000. To fill the vacancies that caused that huge amount of costs with twelve new hires was displayed as simple math: 12 firefighters at $615 per week over 14 weeks would add up to just over $102,000.

"Bob (Due) always helps us and makes good sense of the numbers," Fire Chief Chuck Norris said. "It will certainly help our staff."

Many of the new firefighters join Covington's team from other area departments including Crosby Township, Colerain, West Chester, Woodlawn, Montgomery, Taylor Mill, Ryland Heights, Sharonville, Forest Park, and Sycamore Township. Nearly all of them have degrees (mostly Bachelor degrees) from institutions of higher learning.

"I wish I had a camera, it looks like an audition for GQ Magazine," joked Commissioner Steve Casper, as the new hires were presented to the City Commission. The commissioners voted 4 - 0 to approve the hires.

"May we continue to give you paychecks that cash," Commissioner Frank said.

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