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Elgin Fire Department news (more)

Dec 26

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Elgin Association of Firefighters Local 439 has filed a grievance with the city and a lawsuit in Kane County to stop the city from cutting staffing levels until an arbitrator makes a decision.

The firefighters union says decreasing staffing from 34 to 32 firefighters per shift — a move approved by the city council to save $700,000 in overtime costs starting in 2018 — would cause irreparable harm to firefighters and pose significant risk to residents.

City officials dispute that, saying the proposed cut is all about efficiency.

The union filed the grievance Dec. 21. As per its contract, grievances first are filed with an assistant fire chief. The union then can appeal a negative response to the fire chief, then to the city manager, and then take it to arbitration.

The union also filed a lawsuit and emergency motion for a temporary restraining order on Dec. 22 in Kane County seeking to maintain staffing levels until the issue is decided in arbitration. The city agreed Tuesday in court to wait until Jan. 3, when the matter will be heard by a judge.

The cut would reduce on-shift staffing to 33 firefighters and a battalion chief across seven fire stations, with no layoffs. Stations 1 and 2 would go from six to five firefighters per shift, with a change in how jump companies operate.

Crews at those two fire stations currently jump between an ambulance and ladder truck depending on the call. Under the change, two firefighters would staff an ambulance and three would jump into either an engine or truck.

That would increase by two the ambulances available full-time. The fire service has changed and roughly 75 percent of calls are for ambulance services, Fire Chief Dave Schmidt said earlier this month.

Union officials claim data shows firefighters’ injuries have increased since 2005, when the department switched to a high-overtime model. Data verified from the city’s risk management department shows that is not true, and that the discrepancy is due to methodology and will be addressed moving forward.

thanks Dan

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Elgin Fire Department news (more)

Dec 24

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

Excerpts from an opinion piece at ChicagoTribune.com:

Elgin City Councilman Rich Dunne, a former fire marshall, earlier this month argued against a proposed cut of $700,000 from the fire department budget. While he lost that vote 7-2, the mayor agreed that more discussion is needed on how to fund the department.

The cut, which would not involve the layoff of any firefighters but would come from overtime, was necessary, the mayor said, and part of an effort to realign the staffing of our fire department to meet the current needs of the community, which show that over 80 percent of our calls for service are now for ambulances.

“The changes in staffing are consistent with the results of the recent community survey and the desire for prompt ambulance service. The residents should not see a significant reduction in service,” he said.

The city council’s decision to go with the reduction of overtime is in keeping with the need to cut expenses for the city. Yet, the mayor is asking for further discussion about fire department funding, saying the cut is not a good fix.

“We will continue to meet the needs of the community in the future by providing state of the art equipment, training and adequate staffing to make certain our residents receive the highest quality service available,’ the mayor said.

The concerns expressed by Dunne are valid. With the firefighters’ contract ending Dec. 31, there’s a need for more consideration of the issues.

It will be important for the city council to come up with a plan that will address all funding issues of the fire department that do not negatively affect the safety of residents. It is imperative that public discussions take place to insure the best possible fire protection services in Elgin.

thanks Dan

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Elgin Fire Department news (more)

Dec 23

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

Elgin trustees gave unanimous approval to a $259 million budget this week that increases taxes on gasoline and hotel stays, raises ambulance fees, and cuts staffing at the fire department.

The plan doubles the hotel/motel tax to 8 percent and adds a four-cents per gallon fuel tax at Elgin gas stations. It also increases water and sewer rates by 7 and 8 percent respectively. The city sales tax will increase from 1.25 percent to 1.5 percent. The average Elgin household will see a bump in property taxes to fund police and fire pensions, as well as for bond payments.

Staffing changes at the fire department would reduce overtime by reducing the number of firefighter/paramedics on shift at any one time, saving $1 million annually, city officials said. Increasing ambulance fees — charged only to non-residents — is expected add an additional $1 million in revenue.

The biggest financial change for Elgin may be the reduction in money collected from the Grand Victoria Casino, said Council Member John Steffen. “That was 23 years of revenue we were able to invest in the community. That is coming to an end.”

When the riverboat money began rolling in in 1994, it helped Elgin pull out of an economic depression the city had experienced.

While the board also voted to end its agreement with the Elgin Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, that organization will be renegotiating its agreement with the city in coming months.

The budget had originally called for discontinuing its funding of the agency, which markets Elgin to visitors. However, after learning the city would also then lose matching state funding, the move was made to instead doubling the hotel/motel tax.

 

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