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New Hampshire Politician Proposes Cutting Chief Positions to Avoid Firefighter Layoffs
BETH LaMONTAGNE HALL
The Union Leader
MANCHESTER - Alderman Jim Roy is bringing forward a proposal that would eliminate all six of the Fire Department's district chiefs and use the money to retain some of the 22 firefighters slated for layoffs in the mayor's budget.
The move would save $1 million or about 15 firefighters.
Although the plan would increase the number of on-duty firefighters, Fire Chief James Burkush opposes the plan, saying it would mean drastic change to the way the department is run.
"These positions are vital in our command structure and will certainly affect the efficiency and safety (of) our fire fighting staff and the citizens of Manchester," wrote Burkush in a letter to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen last week. These chiefs oversee staff at fire scenes and serve as top level supervisors and administrators during daily shifts. "The district chiefs are fundamental to the command structure of our organization. Without them, operations would be severely impacted."
"Bringing this proposal forward hasn't been easy for me. It affects guys I grew up in the fire service with. These guys going home are friends of mine," said Roy. "If I didn't believe it is the best thing for the citizens of Manchester and the Fire Department of Manchester, I wouldn't have done it."
Roy is expected to bring this proposal before the aldermen tonight, where it will likely be sent to the Committee on Human Resources. The aldermen would have to vote on final approval by June 30 if the plan is to be enacted.
Burkush will not be at Tuesday's meeting because he is out of town on a previously scheduled trip.
Deputy Chief Daniel Goonan said on Monday he would represent the Fire Department at the meeting but he was not currently prepared to speak about the plan.
Mayor Ted Gatsas has proposed laying off 22 firefighters and leaving 14 positions open in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget. This will reduce minimum staffing levels from 50 to 44 firefighters on duty and possibly the number of ladder trucks available from five to two. Burkush has said this will not reduce response time for initial calls, but it could mean longer drive times for back-up ladder trucks.
Burkush has not called for closing stations, but the local firefighter's union has questioned whether there will be enough staff to keep all of them open.
Maintaining staffing for city emergencies is the reason why Roy, a former firefighter, brought the proposal forward.
"When the mayor started talking earlier this year about sending people home, I realized (the budget) was going to be severe this year and I started to put pencil and paper to this," said Roy. "I wanted to maintain services for the city and more importantly, I didn't want firefighters going home. They're the ones putting out fires and rendering emergency medical services."
Roy said his plan makes the department more efficient by eliminating redundant positions. Under the Manchester Fire Department "incident command system," lieutenants and captains who arrive first on the scene take initial command, and then hand over command when a district chief arrives. By eliminating the district chief, command would stay with the lieutenant or captain on the scene.
Before bringing it to the aldermen, Roy discussed his proposal with the city solicitor, human resources and the finance office to ensure it did not violate any contractual or legal restrictions.
Although there may be resistance, Roy said disruption to the department will be minimal.
"It's pretty much already happening," said Roy. "There is going to be resistance to this change in any organization. I relate it to a death in the family. Some people don't accept it for a while and some people never accept it."
Copyright 2011 Union Leader Corp.
All Rights Reserved
April 5, 2011
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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Fiscally this makes sense, as upper management is paid more money than the new kids and getting rid of them saves more bodies on the floor. What doesn't make sense is without a DC on duty, the company officer will have to manage some very big incidents, while his first due company works in a dangerous environment without any line supervision. This article fails to mention that the now "city alderman" is a retired Captain from the same department.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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No cuts are good, but this does bring up discussion points too. When we did endure cuts we went down to a single Battalion Chief for the city if one bat was off. I suppose this would be the same situation as here, we have 6 BC's for running the shifts, 2 per shift. If one BC is off, we will go down to one BC for the city, which curbs OT costs. The chiefs from the Chief on down will also be on call to respond to fires as needed.
Last night there was a structure fire outside the city where mutual aid was requested and a pump sent, along with a chief officer. About ten minutes later there was a structure fire in the city and the truck captain was command until the duty chief arrived.
While not the best scenario to eliminate, there are ways to handle things too. We have also had a few fires where the ambulance officer was IC and maintained command even when a chief did arrive. Something for EMS crews to think about and an important role that can be filled where having FF's on EMS helps.
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Permalink Reply by Gregory Borg on
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This makes me laugh and cry. What the hell are they thinking, letssend people into danger with no supervision! Or, lets take the Lt's and Capt's from the crew so there is no supervision inside! Neither of these work. I have had my moments when I wished there were no chiefs onthe job, but really, this is wrong. So is laying off 22 guys from a small department. Raise your friggen taxes for gods sake!
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Permalink Reply by Wade Seely on
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How much would cutting the city aldermans position save the community....Just saying.
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John, they did what you are doing already, had 2 on duty and went to one per shift. This latest proposal is to get rid of the remaining DC's and let the company officers manage the entire incident.
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Raising taxes is not going to happen in most communities. Our state is funded via property taxes. No income or sales taxes. Politicians are now going after our retirement and getting rid of collective bargaining too. Our proposed bills look like Wisconsin's but on Steroids.
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Yea, I know that. It just tic's me off that they are trying to blame working people for the financial troubles. I will repeat my mantra, "any working person that votes for a republican is voting against their own self interests". We are seeing this come true, these tax cuttes did not get into office with business owners votes.
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Roger that, don't agree with such a concept. While a company officer can be command for a period of time, there still should be a chief officer as well.
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Same here Greg
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