Firefighters Protest Budget Cuts, Staffing
Fire commissioner says contract is increasing overtime costs
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The president of Bethlehem's firefighters union took aim at city leaders Thursday for a budget proposal that he said will put the department at its lowest staffing levels since the 1980s.
"By cutting staffing, you are placing the firefighters, the citizens and the city at risk," said David A. Saltzer, president of Bethlehem Local 735 of the International Association of Fire Fighters. "You're choosing money over safety."
Saltzer made the comments during City Council's third budget hearing, one in which the city's public safety and water departments were discussed.
With at least 40 other union members in the Town Hall gallery, Saltzer said he was upset that the loss of two firefighters through attrition was not even mentioned in council's discussion of the department with Fire Commissioner George Barkanic. That budget cut would reduce the city's firefighting force to 109, Saltzer said.
What Barkanic did discuss is a dramatic increase in overtime since 2008 from $277,000 to $782,000 this year.
Barkanic said the reason is a part of the most recent union contract, which requires no less than 22 firefighters to be on duty at any time. Prior to that the city only had to staff 20 firefighters per shift.
The department structure has 26 men on per shift. However, no less than two, and sometimes three firefighters are always on vacation. If one or two others call off sick or have a personal day, the city is required by contract to call in a firefighter for overtime.
Barkanic said sick leave has only increased since the new contract took effect.
"I personally believe that the overtime is feeding the sick leave, which is feeding the overtime," Barkanic said. "Minimum staffing will be addressed in the next contract."
Mayor John Callahan has said that public safety departments are the least affected of city departments in his proposed $6 million budget reduction. Firefighters and police both lose two positions, through attrition, not layoffs. Callahan was not at Thursday night's hearing.
Saltzer defended the new minimum staffing saying that it allows for every truck in the city to be staffed with two firefighters. With 20 firefighters, some trucks only got one, which is a safety issue for firefighters who try to have two firefighters outside a burning building for every two that are inside.
"The goal every day is to be able to go home," he said. "I want to go home at night. I want to see my wife."
The other firefighters in attendance broke out in applause.
Assistant Fire Chief Dave Ruhf, a 34-year veteran of the department, told council that when he was hired in 1976, there were 116 Bethlehem firefighters. In 1983, 10 firefighters were laid off, knocking the number down to 106. The department has never returned to that pre-layoff level, Ruhf said.
The department has also been working with less equipment, one less ladder truck and one less engine than it had when he first joined, Ruhf said.
"This department has been adapting and overcoming since I first got in," he said. If firefighters work more hours, you can expect sick leave to increase, he added.
"It's our own fault because we've adapted to whatever you asked us to do," Ruhf said. "We need more men, not less men."
David Ruhf
9:31 pm on Friday, December 17, 2010
Common sense aspect of the reduction of the fire department personnel would indicate that more firefighters would be needed if the same coverage is expected to be equal to or greater than 1976 coverages. The growth of the city since 1976 has grown the police department by 36 officers more than in 1976 from 125 to 161, the EMS department from 10 employees to over 24 employees, as well as other city departments experiencing the same growth over the years. Yet the fire department in 1976 had 116 members, in 2010 has 115, and now will be reduced by 2 additional members bringing the department mamming levels down to 113 members. Does this make sense. The City of Bethlehem is not a bedroom community people are here all the time. The Sands Casino has over a 1000 people visiting everyday, the construction of I-78 brings travelers and common carriers through our city by the 1000's, the expansion of the industrial parks add to the daily numbers, the Sands Hotel and Art Quest projects going on in the old steel property will swell the number of visitors more and more placing additional demands on our city's emergency services. So is now the time to be cutting emergency personnel?
David Ruhf
9:51 pm on Friday, December 17, 2010
What services do the citizens of Bethlehem have now that they didn't have in 1976, as for the Bethlehem Fire Department lets see? State certified hazardous materials team and water rescue team and a bomb squad certified by the federal government, state certified fire inspectors, certified first responders and emergency medical technicians. The fire department personnel have always and will always be the catch all of emergency services. We as a department have always strived to give the citizens of Bethlehem the best service possible given the dollars and men we have on the department. The City of Bethlehem was voted in the top 100 place to live. How long will this last if these fire department cuts are allowed to happen, and where is it going to end. These cuts remind me of what we call the dark years on the BFD or the Marcincin era. Apparatus in disrepair, the cutting of manpower, and the curtailing of training. What's next?
Dana Grubb
7:57 am on Sunday, January 2, 2011
I agree with Dave Ruhf's assessments. What many tend to forget is that when Bethlehem Steel was operating on all 18oo acres, which is about 20% of the city's total area, fire, security and medical services were handled in house by steel. Now that those 1800 acres are undergoing redevelopment by the Sands, NMIH, ArtsQuest, PBS-39, LVIP, Majestic Realty and others it is the City of Bethlehem that assumes coverage responsibilities.
Most in Bethlehem would agree that it's a golden opportunity for reusing the former steel plant, but with that opportunity the city must provide for everyone's safety. Public safety cuts send a very mixed message and compromise one of the core responsibilities that are required at any level of government.