The Scotia Fire Department contract is again causing conflict among the trustees and mayor. Mayor Kris Kastberg presented a proposal to the board of trustees at the Wednesday, Sept. 12, meeting, asking trustees to approve the hiring of two professional firefighters. There are currently 10 full-time firefighters in the department.
The proposal was tabled after questions about the necessity of the two additional men as well as specifics in the contract.
Trustee Armon Benny said the village went to a three-man shift in 2003. Benny said the reasons for the shift change were a combination of overtime, safety and National Firefighter Protection Association, or NFPA, standards. Benny said even adding two additional professional firefighters would bring the number of men up to the NFPA standards; however, Benny said the model has not worked for the village during the past four years. According to Benny’s calculations, it would take 14.5 professional firefighters to have this model be successful. Benny said last year, 82 percent of the time only two professional firefighters were on duty at a time.
Between resignations, vacations and sick time, and human resources days, we still come up short with the 12-man model. It’s very difficult to accommodate the sick time, said Benny.
Benny said that the main reason that the current 10-man model is a concern is the excessive overtime being paid out. He said the safety of the firefighters and the village residents is always the No. 1 priority for village officials, although he believes that the 12-person model does not necessarily improve the safety of the village.
`I believe there is a better way that we can have shifts and make better use of our great volunteer support. There is a better, more economical model. We just need to research and examine what that may be,` said Benny.
Kastberg has expressed his concerns over the indecisiveness of the board. Kastberg said the board wants to work through the issues with the fire department but fails to take actions.
`We discussed the concerns in the department; we have made a commitment to better ensure the safety of firefighters and of village residents,` said Kastberg.
The question remains of how to staff shifts, how many professional firefighters per shift and how many volunteers per shift. Right now, the village is in the process of hiring one professional firefighter. The two additional employees would then bring department to a 12-person model. The board is working with the firefighters union, which is strongly in favor of the 12-person model. Fire Chief Richard Kasko said the union believes hiring the additional two firefighters better is a matter of safety and protection.
`We need to make sure our people are safe and that they have proper backup when they approach a fire,` said Kasko.
Benny said the board is under no deadline to pass a resolution. He said the board is now waiting to meet with the village labor attorney, Brian Goldberger, in an effort to move forward.“