Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
I don’t report on these all the time. Everyone is facing budget cuts, manpower reductions, etc.
What is unique about East Providence is how many new changes might come to reality in a perfect storm.
Basically, the firefighters work two 10 hr. shifts and two 14 hr. shifts. They pay $14 a week in health insurance, and they have 4 platoons.
The proposed changes come from their City Manager Richard Brown. Brown wants to eliminate 2 vacant positions, lay off 26 least senior firefighters, change to 24 hour shifts, and delete one platoon. The estimated savings equal $1.34 million a year.
Yeah, that would suck. Over the past couple of years I have heard of layoffs, brownouts, shift changes, health care premiums increase, among other budget reducing measures. I HAVE NOT heard of one proposal that includes so many of these cost cutting desperate measures.
He said the union presented another proposal Sept. 22 that would have saved the city $1.4 million, the same amount Brown’s proposal is projected to save. Cotter said the union proposal includes doubling their health-care co-shares to $28 week. The union also agreed to 24-hour shifts in a 42-hour work week. The three-year proposal didn’t have a salary increase until the third year, which was 4-percent in fiscal year 2012. Read the entire article
The Fire Critic says: This is a little bit Russian Roulette and a little more shitting all over your employees. I wonder what the City Manager Richard Brown would say if Council decided to lay off his department heads, increase his workweek by 33% and increase his insurance contributions by 20%. Do you think he would take that kick in the pants with a smile on his face? I don’t think so either. Look here and scroll down for “MUTT“.
