Carpentersville effects the layoff of two firefighters.
Posts Tagged Carpentersville Fire Department
Excerpts from theDailyHerald.com:
Among ongoing contract negotiations, two Carpentersville firefighters are expected to be laid off later this month and more personnel cuts might be in the offing in other village departments, officials said.
A spokesman for the union representing the village’s 33 full-time firefighters says the administration is compromising fire safety by reducing staffing below optimum levels, which ultimately could increase overtime costs.
“We have put forth a good-faith effort to reduce overtime costs by agreeing to ?exible scheduling to react to manpower shortages, but sadly the village chose to use it ineffectively,” said Rick Nieves, president of the Carpentersville Professional Fire?ghters Union, IAFF Local 4790. “The swing shift, a concept agreed to by the village and union in 2014, in which ?re?ghters were moved from their normal assigned shift to another shift that is short-staffed, was an attempt to decrease costs during a time of need.”
Village Manager Mark Rooney said the swing shift structure did not result in anticipated cost savings of $75,000 yearly, which the village set as a condition for not laying off firemen. Since 2010, Rooney said, the village has eliminated 33 positions bringing staffing down from 207 to 174 full-time employees through reorganization, layoffs, and not filling positions.
He said the fire department largely has been spared losing only one full-time firefighter during that time. The layoffs are necessary to reduce a projected $800,000 budget deficit this year due to increased labor, health care and pension costs.
Other departments could be facing cuts. In May, the village administration will begin negotiations with the union representing 19 civilian employees.
Officials also are trying to reduce costs through attrition. The village hired a civilian employee as police records supervisor — a position previously filled by a police commander who has left the department. The commander’s salary was roughly $115,000 plus benefits, while the civilian employee will make $80,000 with no benefits, Rooney said.
Last year, officials were projecting a $500,000 deficit, yet closed out the year in the black. If sales tax revenues and state funding come through better than anticipated, that deficit could be much smaller, Rooney said.
Nieves said the village shouldn’t be laying off firefighters when other employees, including Rooney, are getting raises. Rooney last year received a 5.5 percent pay hike raising his salary to roughly $167,000 as of Jan. 1, 2015.
Nieves cited a recent consolidation study, paid for in part by the village, showing a need for having four ?re?ghters in each of the three Carpentersville stations. Station 91, located at 213 Spring St., covering the “Old Town” section of town, often maintains only three ?re?ghters to run an ambulance, an engine, and a truck, he said.
Rooney maintains the cuts will not affect public safety, and any shortfalls will be made up from among nine part-timers. “Essentially, it is a minority of days or nights that we do not have four firefighter/paramedics in each station,” he added.
Both sides return to the negotiating table April 20 in an attempt to stave off layoffs, which take effect April 22, and ink another deal before the current contract expires by month end.
Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Carpentersville Fire Department Chief John Skillman plans to retire this spring.
Born and raised in Carpentersville, Skillman has worked at the fire department 29 years, serving as deputy fire chief, battalion chief and lieutenant. He was named chief almost exactly a year ago, replacing former Public Safety Director Al Popp.
An external search has begun for Skillman’s replacement, who will be the department’s third leader since longtime Chief John Schuldt retired in 2013.
In addition to the changes at the top, personnel action was recently taken to remove Deputy Chief Kevin Rynders, Rooney said, and the position was “civilianized at this time.”
The circumstances behind Rynders’ departure are not known, and Rooney declined to comment on the personnel matter.
Once a new chief is selected, the village plans to work with that individual to analyze the organizational structure of the department, including the future of the deputy chief position, said Kathy Lamkin, interim director of human resources.
Additionally, Ritter said the village board hopes to cut overtime expenses within the department.
In choosing a new chief, GovHR USA, a recruitment and human resources firm, will screen applicants based on criteria provided by the village and will present officials with 10 to 15 finalists. The salary for the job ranges from $125,000 to $155,000, depending on experience.
Rooney said he’s looking to hire a strong leader with ample experience to implement the village board’s goals and objectives. An ideal candidate would also help to establish a positive atmosphere among the village and the International Association of Firefighters Local 4790, Rooney said.
“We’re really looking for a cultural transformational-type leader who will take some of the last three to four years of acrimony, heal some of those wounds and put that behind us,” he said.
Union President Rick Nieves said firefighters have had a fairly good relationship with Skillman and Rynders. “We had our differences occasionally, but we always did our best to work them out,” he said.
The relationship between the village and the fire union can be contentious, Ritter said, often leaving the fire chief caught in the middle.
Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Members of the Carpentersville International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4790 are decrying the March 23 layoffs of two full-time firefighters, set to take effect April 22.
The union had just begun contract negotiations with village officials when they were notified of the layoffs, union President Lt. Rick Nieves said in a news release.
“This is very unfortunate news for our membership,” he said. “We have put forth a good-faith effort to reduce overtime costs by agreeing to flexible scheduling to react to manpower shortages, but sadly the village chose to use it ineffectively. The union does not control overtime that was approved and budgeted for during the fiscal year.”
Carpentersville Village Manager Mark Rooney, who said he had not seen the release from the union, declined comment.
Nieves said that in 2014 negotiations between village officials and union members resulted in an agreement that created swing shift employees, where firefighters were moved from their regularly assigned shifts to another to fill vacancies created by other employees’ vacations and authorized time off.
At that time, the village issued a news release stating that if the swing-shift schedule works as expected, no full-time firefighters would be laid off for the duration of the current collective bargaining agreement, which expires in 2016. In turn, the union decided to withdraw a grievance it filed that year which disputed the village’s decision to lay off two full-time firefighters.
Nieves said village officials agreed to the swing-shift concept as an attempt to decrease costs during a time of need.
“The village sent the union notice that they were opting out of the swing shift the same day as the layoff notices were issued,” he said.
This is the second time firefighters have given concessions to address a perceived shortfall, Nieves said in the release.
“But we don’t believe we should shoulder the entire burden. The village has not laid off any other employees and has given raises to other employees this year,” he said.
He said the village has made a practice of delaying the replacement of members due to injuries and retirements, which puts a strain on the already meager overtime budget negotiated in the last contract.
The recent consolidation study paid for in part by the Village of Carpentersville shows a need for increased staffing to four firefighters in each of the three Carpentersville stations, Nieves said.
“We need to work together to start adopting recommendations from a study the village paid for,” he said. “We have always worked to manage any crisis the community has faced, including financial crises as well. With the loss of a deputy chief, administrative assistant and now the fire chief, our membership, many of whom are residents of Carpentersville, feel there is not a financial need to lay off firefighters as Village President Ed Ritter has previously stated. We hope this can come to a good conclusion.”
thanks Dan
Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Citing nearly impossible legal hurdles at the state level, the Carpentersville Fire Department, East Dundee Fire Protection District and West Dundee Fire Department will not seek a complete consolidation at this time.
However, the fire chiefs do agree it should be a goal for the future. “It doesn’t mean we’re stopping and just not doing anything,” West Dundee Chief Randy Freise said. “We’re just not jumping in all at once. We’re breaking it down into smaller pieces.”
In November of 2014, members of the Carpentersville Village Board, East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District Board, and West Dundee Village Board shared the $30,908 expense to initiate the study by Emergency Services Consulting International. In October of this year, results from that in-depth study concluded consolidating fire services would make sense.
However, Freise said during a presentation at Monday’s board meeting, when the fire chiefs were tasked with analyzing the study and discussing the results with their respective boards “we came to the conclusion a complete legal consolidation at this time would be too difficult to do.”
Freise said a state law passed in the last year and a half requires more hurdles in order to make consolidations possible. “Now we have referendums and court appearances and all these different things we have to do in order to do this,” he said. “It kind of takes the decision away from the local boards and makes it much more difficult.”
They plan to keep working toward the ultimate goal of a potential full consolidation. That includes the possibility of forming work groups represented by members of each department and municipality and tasked with developing a regional approach to providing the best outcome, and a regional board that would include a fire chief from each of the respective towns and a trustee from that town to consider the recommendations of the work groups.
The fire chiefs are also meeting with Sen. Karen McConnaughay this month to discuss the roadblocks in state law considering consolidation, Freise said. “One of our goals is to meet with local legislators to make them aware the state is making it more difficult and to see if we can’t change the legislation and make it more streamlined,” he said.
Freise said in the last few weeks he has also heard from the Rutland-Dundee Township Fire Protection District chief who is interested in joining the conversation of a possible future consolidation. “A big piece of our regional puzzle that has been missing from the onset is participation of Rutland-Dundee Township Fire Protection District,” he said. “Through all of this we’ve continued to work closely with them and will most likely continue to do so in the future, no matter what it holds.”
Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
The West Dundee and Carpentersville fire departments and the East Dundee Fire Protection District engaged in a cooperative services feasibility study with the goal to improve services while saving taxpayers’ money, West Dundee Fire Chief Randy Freise said.
The results of the study, which began in January, were presented to fire officials and their governing bodies Monday.
Kent Greene, of Oregon-based Emergency Services Consulting International, said the three entities already have worked well together in certain operational areas, such as sharing an automatic aid agreement. However, further and more formal methods of consolidating could save costs and expand services, he said.
The departments have three options: merge into a single fire department, maintain separate entities while combining some efforts, or decide to make no changes.
The study determined the departments are efficiently serving their intended areas with “very good response performances,” Greene said.
Merging the three departments, however, could streamline the use and efficiency of resources. The number of administrative and support positions, for example, wouldn’t change significantly. But instead of having three fire chiefs, they could allot resources to a training officer and an inspector — positions that currently don’t exist.
There are also ways to join efforts without becoming one entity, such as developing a pre-incident planning process used by all three departments so they have the same emergency strategies. They could also combine training and fire prevention education programs.
“I’m 100 percent behind some form of (consolidating), and they gave us a lot of things to think about,” East Dundee Fire Chief Steve Schmitendorf said.
Freise said fire officials had been discussing consolidation possibilities for years before deciding last year to conduct the study for $30,908, a cost that was split among the three entities.
Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:
An in-depth study has concluded consolidating fire services makes sense.
Now, members of the Carpentersville Fire Department, East Dundee Fire Protection District and West Dundee Fire Department have to find out if elected officials and the community agree.
On Monday, Kent Greene, senior vice president with Emergency Services Consulting International, unveiled the results during two different presentations with the fire chiefs and emergency services employees.
“The study was not intended to be a merger study,” Greene said. “It was never our intention to come in and say, ‘Let’s take these departments and make them one.’ I don’t want anyone to think we came in to merge your organizations. It was more to give you the information you need to make changes in the future to help you work better.”
Already, the fire departments are served by QuadCom Regional Dispatch Center, the multi-agency dispatch center in Carpentersville that also covers East Dundee and Rutland Dundee Fire departments.
He said there are several options for even more cooperative efforts, including a functional consolidation, an operational consolidation, or a legal unification. Officials could also choose autonomy, where the fire districts stay as they are.
Greene noted a consolidation would not mean reducing personnel. He said the amount of firefighters for the combined 24.82 square miles the three departments serve is lower than the national and regional average.
However, he said rather than having three chiefs, positions can be reallocated. “You could fill positions that should be filled so services can still be delivered at the current or higher level without a significant cost increase.”
Other cooperative efforts include working together to adopt a shared capital replacement plan that adequately funds the purchase, replacement or rehabilitation of future apparatus, combine their administrative and support services, jointly purchase equipment and apparatus, and consolidate training programs.
Now, elected officials have to decide whether to authorize a continuing investigation into the cooperative efforts that may or may not result in the consolidation of the local fire departments.
thanks Dan
Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
In 1970, Steve Zaccard, who grew up in the village, joined the Carpentersville Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter at 18 years old. Throughout the years, he moved up to full-time firefighter, then lieutenant and then captain. He fought raging fires, chased criminals, delivered a baby. He became close with several other firefighters and would often go camping with them on their days off.
On Saturday, Zaccard will reunite with former co-workers — and meet current firefighters — at the Carpentersville Fire Department’s 100th anniversary. A parade starting 10 a.m. at Tamarac Drive and Maple Avenue will travel to Fire Station No. 91 at 213 Spring St. Richard C. Paul, Carpentersville’s first fire chief, is the grand marshal, Fire Chief John Skillman said.
At the fire station, an open house and barbecue is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is open to the public.
Though officials have been able to track down several former full-time firefighters, Skillman said, they are still hoping to reach out to more, including any part-time or volunteer firefighters who worked in Carpentersville.
Additionally, activities for kids will be set up at the station, including a fire pole and a smoke trailer. Firefighters will give tours of the station, as well.
For Zaccard, the experience will be a chance to reminisce with some of his closest friends.
Excerpts from theChciagoTribune.com:
Carpentersville Fire Chief John Skillman said he was notified the department would be receiving $61,819 in grant funding to outfit two ambulances with Stryker Power-LOAD systems and cots. The battery-operated systems allow medics to lift and lower patients to ambulances with the touch of a button, allowing for safer patient transport and minimizing the risks of back injuries to personnel.
He said the department recently purchased a system for its new ambulance, set to be delivered in early October. Now, because of the grant, three out of the four department ambulances will have the systems … funding was provided through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant.
Since 2001, the AFG has provided approximately $5.25 billion in federal funding to first-responder organizations across the country to help purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, training, and vehicles. This year, the AFG will award $304.5 million to first-responder organizations that need support to improve their capability to respond to fires and emergencies of all types, according to a release.
thanks Dan
Images from Tim Olk of a car fire in an attached garage at 265 Melody Lane in Carpentersville Sunday afternoon (1-4-15).
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
The Courier-News has an article about the consolidation talks between the Carpentersville and West Dundee Fire Departments:
As talks continue on the possibility of Carpentersville and West Dundee consolidating fire services, local officials are eager to keep the momentum going.
To that end, West Dundee board members authorized village staff Monday to develop a request for proposal to determine the cost of an in-depth study on consolidation.
West Dundee Village President Chris Nelson said an outside entity can help officials “evaluate the prospect of the consolidation because it is a very complex issue.”
The scope of the possible consolidation has also broadened, with both East Dundee Fire District and Rutland-Dundee Township Fire Protection Districts showing an interest. Efforts are underway currently to take steps toward a more functional consolidation, where the fire department districts would remain separate but work together more in responding to incidents and purchasing equipment.
West Dundee Chief Randy Freise told village officials that Carpentersville has agreed to provide battalion chief coverage in West Dundee for all structure fires, vehicle accidents with extrication, and major incidents at Spring Hill Mall.
Freise also plans to meet with East Dundee Fire Chief Steve Schmitendorf and Carpentersville Deputy Chief John Skillman to discuss the possibility of sharing a training officer.
Nelson said having consistent training not only saves money but also makes sure firefighters are working together and operating as a team.
“Not just for the village of West Dundee but for the other departments and taxpayers,” Nelson said. “Our ultimate goal is to enhance the service level in an affordable way. It’s great we’re able to move the ball on this.”
thanks Dan
The Daily Herald has an article
West Dundee officials this week took a small, but significant step toward possibly consolidating its fire services with neighboring departments by ordering a study on response times, where most emergency calls occur and related information.
The study will focus on the coverage area that encompasses the West Dundee and Carpentersville fire departments, as well as the East Dundee and the Rutland-Dundee Township fire protection districts.
The document, which the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association will compile, would also give an overview of the area and list the individual departments’ strengths and weaknesses.
Once the information comes back, … neighboring fire chiefs [will meet] to review it and figure out the next steps. Carpentersville, West Dundee and East Dundee support the study and are dividing its cost among themselves. Rutland-Dundee has agreed to submit information for the study, but is not making a financial contribution.
Talks about consolidating services have been ongoing for many years, but got serious in January …
“Certainly everybody’s got tight budgets and it makes sense to look at it at this time, but my ultimate goal would be to provide better service,” Friese said.
thanks Dan
