From excerpts on theDailyHerald.com:
In the midst of tense contract talks, Carpentersville officials have announced plans to lay off two firefighters later this month, with further personnel reductions potentially looming in other municipal departments. According to a union spokesperson for the village's 33 full-time firefighters, these cuts could compromise fire safety by keeping staffing below optimal levels, which might lead to higher overtime expenses.
Rick Nieves, president of the Carpentersville Professional Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 4790, criticized the administration's approach, stating, "We’ve made a sincere effort to cut overtime costs by agreeing to flexible scheduling to address staffing shortages, but unfortunately, the village hasn't implemented it effectively." He pointed out that the "swing shift" concept, approved by both parties in 2014, aimed to move firefighters from their usual shifts to undermanned ones to save money during tough times. However, Village Manager Mark Rooney noted that this system failed to deliver the expected $75,000 annual savings that the village had hoped for to avoid layoffs.
Since 2010, Rooney mentioned that the village has eliminated 33 positions, reducing the total number of full-time employees from 207 to 174. Despite this, the fire department has lost only one full-time firefighter so far. These layoffs are necessary to tackle a projected $800,000 budget shortfall this year caused by rising labor, healthcare, and pension costs. Other departments may face similar cuts, with negotiations set to begin in May with the union representing 19 civilian workers.
To trim costs further, the village has adopted strategies like replacing higher-paid positions with lower-cost civilian roles. For instance, they've appointed a civilian to handle police records instead of a police commander who recently left. While the commander earned around $115,000 annually plus benefits, the new civilian employee will earn $80,000 without benefits. Last year, officials were predicting a $500,000 deficit but ended the year in surplus. Rooney expressed hope that improved sales tax revenue and state funding could shrink this year’s deficit significantly.
Nieves argued that laying off firefighters contradicts the administration’s decision to give raises to others, including Rooney, whose salary rose by 5.5% last year to approximately $167,000 as of January 1, 2015. Nieves referred to a recent consolidation study, partially funded by the village, which suggested a need for four firefighters per station in Carpentersville’s three locations. At Station 91 on Spring Street, which serves the historic area, there are often only three firefighters available to operate an ambulance, an engine, and a ladder truck.
Rooney countered that the cuts wouldn’t impact public safety, claiming that any shortages would be covered by nine part-timers. "It’s only a small percentage of days or nights where we don’t have four firefighter/paramedics at each station," he stated. Both sides plan to reconvene on April 20 in hopes of averting the layoffs scheduled for April 22 and reaching a new agreement before the current contract expires at month-end.
Calcium Chloride,Calcium Chloride Powder,Calcium Chloride Liquid,Anhydrous Cacl2
TIANJIN LIHE TRADING CO.,LTD , https://www.lihecorp.com