Firefighters suggest options

Spokane fire union leaders on Wednesday outlined a plan to save 12 firefighter jobs by cutting administrative positions and charging for supplies used on some emergency medical runs.

Lt. Greg Borg, president of city firefighters’ Local 29, said the mayor’s current proposal for department staffing in 2005 would increase the risk of property loss and injury, especially at the northern and southern corners of the city.

The cuts, Borg said, “will have a big effect on how long it takes us to get to calls.” The longer it takes to get to calls, the more chance there is of lives being lost and homes being destroyed, especially when multiple rigs are needed to respond to the northwest, southwest or southeast parts of Spokane, he said.

As many as 57 front-line firefighter positions would be lost in 2005, plus another five jobs in the department. The current authorized strength is about 290 positions, including administration and support employees.

On-duty strength is expected to drop from 63 firefighters at the start of 2004 to 50 firefighters in 2005. None of the city’s 14 stations would be closed, but staffing on a number of engines would be reduced from four to three and some trucks would be taken out of service.

Next year, when multiple rigs are dispatched to one location, larger areas of the city will be left without nearby fire coverage, Borg said.

The cuts are expected to trim more than $3 million in the fire department. Nearly $12 million is being cut from general fund services citywide.

Borg said the union wants to see more cuts in cell phone use and support staff, including computer technicians, training officers, administrators.

A vacant position of assistant chief, budgeted at $98,000 a year in salary, should be eliminated, Borg said. Fire Chief Bobby Williams is budgeted for a salary of $138,759 in 2005, and a deputy chief is budgeted at $102,650.

Veteran firefighters, below the rank of captain, are expected to earn salaries in the $60,000 to $74,000 range under a tentative labor settlement reached between the administration and Local 29 recently. Details of the settlement had not been made public as of Wednesday.

Borg said the union is also proposing that emergency patients be charged for medical supplies that are used by city firefighters, who are cross-trained as emergency medical technicians or paramedics. That would yield about $200,000 in additional revenue for the department, he said.

“We understand the predicament the mayor is in,” Borg said. “We feel there is a better way to do that (achieve budget cuts).”

Mayor Jim West was not available for comment on the union proposal, but he reportedly is talking with union officials about their ideas.

Williams said he is already cutting his training staff from five to three officers, and believes it would be risky to cut it any further. His computer information costs would probably be higher if he shifted the duties to City Hall, which would charge the department for its services, he said.

Williams said his top administrators are already loaded with work, so the department needs an assistant chief. Williams is seeking to fill the job, he said, at the same time he has reduced two battalion chief positions.

Cell phone costs are relatively small, and provide flexibility in communications, Williams said. Fire union officials said they already have radios and do not need cell phones.

Williams also said that citizens are paying for emergency medical responses through a property tax measure that voters most recently approved in September, so it would be unfair to charge them for medical supplies when they need them.

Williams said he told union leaders that some of their ideas would not work.

Council members Cherie Rodgers and Bob Apple both said they want to consider options for saving money in the Fire Department. Apple said he would rather close one or more neighborhood stations rather than reduce staffing on trucks, and he believes cuts in upper management are appropriate.

Rodgers said, “I’m open to all suggestions.”