By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post (Florida)
Copyright 2006 The Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
STUART, Fla. — A 10 percent raise for Martin County firefighters is leaving some residents feeling burned by their county officials and making allegations of political back-scratching.
The criticism is directed at a three-year contract the county commission approved last week giving the 254 members of the county’s professional firefighters and paramedics union the double-digit raise for each of the next three years.
“Something slightly over the cost of living, like 5 percent, would be reasonable, but 10 percent is a little excessive,” Palm City resident Rick Yost said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this is politically motivated.”
But some county officials say they need the raises to get good firefighters to join “Martin County’s bravest.”
“This puts us in a position where we can be competitive to attract the best and the brightest,” Commissioner Doug Smith said.
Commissioners unanimously approved the contract without discussion, prompting critics such as Yost to blast the contract, which will cost the county about $2.5 million for three years. They say the commission was trying to keep the decision quiet.
Commissioner Lee Weberman challenged that, saying county officials and the firefighters union had weekly negotiation sessions that were open to the public for months.
Don Pickard, vice president of the Martin County Taxpayers Association, called the raises “ridiculous.” He said the last two contracts already gave firefighters large annual raises and that the union is getting whatever it wants from commissioners.
“We think there ought to be some parity as to what their position in life is really worth,” Pickard said. “Across the board there is too much money spent on raises and too much money spent on fire stations. Too much has been given to them too quickly.”
Commission Chairwoman Susan Valliere defended the contract.
“Anybody who feels firefighters are overpaid wouldn’t think that if they had a heart attack,” Valliere said.
The raises are needed because surrounding counties and cities are paying their starting firefighters and paramedics more, Martin Fire Chief Tom Billington said. The county is having trouble attracting applicants with the minimum qualifications for lower positions because they would make more money elsewhere, he said.
Of 90 applicants for 12 open paramedic positions in the department this year, only five have had the minimum qualifications, Billington said.
Pickard said he doesn’t think Martin’s pay should be comparable with Palm Beach County’s.
“It’s not like Palm Beach County here, where you’ve got 1.5 million people and high-rise buildings. I think the job is different here,” Pickard said.
Commissioner Sarah Heard voted for the contract because she saw that a majority of commissioners supported it. But she said she thought the raises were too high and didn’t buy Billington’s argument. The county should give raises only to the lowest levels of the pay scale, she said.
“Why are we increasing at every level along the way?” Heard said.
Pickard said the raises at the top of the pay scale are his biggest problem because county records show three of the department’s battalion commanders are already among the highest-paid employees in the county. The commanders made as much as $156,000 last year, which is more than the salaries of County Administrator Duncan Ballantyne or County Attorney Steve Fry.
“That’s on a level with what a four-star general makes,” Pickard said.
Patrick LaConte, who is running for a commission seat against Valliere in the Sept. 5 primary, also criticized the high pay.
“We are a small county, and we need to keep things in balance,” LaConte said. “When you have a union worker that’s the highest-paid employee in the county, higher than our county administrator, something is wrong.”
Billington called their argument a “smoke screen.” The battalion commanders are earning so much because they are working hundreds of hours of overtime, he said. One battalion commander, Horace Wiggins, worked more than 1,200 hours of overtime last year, making $89,000 in regular salary and $66,000 in overtime.
Steve Wolfberg, director of emergency services for the county, said the fire department has only six full-time battalion commanders and two people who are certified to fill in when the commanders are off.
Pickard said battalion commanders racking up thousands of dollars in overtime will hurt the county down the line by drawing larger retirement benefits. The county’s retirement formula calculates benefits based on the average of an employee’s five highest-earning years.
According to the state formula, a firefighter who retires with 20 years of service and an average high earning of $156,000 would receive an annual retirement benefit of about $93,000.
To reduce overtime, the county will hold a test next month to certify more firefighters to fill in as commanders. After the test, Wolfberg said, the county hopes to have 12 firefighters who can fill in.
Commissioner Heard said the raises were the result of commissioners returning the favor for past political support from the firefighters union. In 2004, members of the union erected signs and organized blood drives to support Smith.
“That has to have an influence,” said Heard, who accused the firefighters union of supporting her opponent in the September primary, Susan O’Rourke. “I don’t write the contracts of my volunteers after I get elected.”
O’Rourke said a few firefighters have put up her signs on their own time.
“Why can’t they just support me because they like me?” O’Rourke said. “They deserve the right to participate in the political process without fear of reprisal.”
John Davidson, president of the firefighters union, did not return several calls seeking comment.
Yost, the Palm City resident, said firefighters are using the memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as a weapon to intimidate politicians.
“The commissioners can’t win in this situation,” Yost said. “If they say something negative about this contract, then they are perceived as not being willing to help firefighters. It’s the whole 9/11 mentality that’s gotten way out of control now.”
Smith denied that support from the firefighters in 2004 influenced his vote for the contract. Valliere also denied Heard’s allegation and said the union supported Dennis Armstrong, the commissioner she ousted in 2002.
Heard suggested that the county hire an independent negotiator instead of using county officials for future contracts. Ballantyne, the county administrator, said he is already working on other ways to change how all the county’s collective bargaining contracts are negotiated.
How the raises compare
Martin County officials say they increased the salaries of firefighters 10 percent to compete for firefighter and paramedic candidates with surrounding departments. Even with the raises, increases by the other departments will keep the county’s starting pay in the middle of the pack.
STARTING FIREFIGHTER-EMT PAY
Department Current Next year % increase
Lake Worth $32,499 $44,905 *38%
Palm Beach County $42,432 $43,705 3%
Town of Palm Beach $42,156 $43,420 **3%
Boynton Beach $36,771 $38,186 4%
Martin County $33,784 $37,247 10%
Stuart $34,713 $36,093 4%
St. Lucie County $32,468 $33,767 4%
Boca Raton $46,921 n/a n/a
STARTING PARAMEDIC PAY
Department Current Next year % increase
Palm Beach County $48,797 $50,260 3%
Lake Worth $37,299 $49,705 *33%
Town of Palm Beach $47,585 $49,012 **3%
Boynton Beach $44,259 $45,764 3%
Martin County $39,110 $43,118 10%
St. Lucie County $41,503 $43,083 4%
Stuart $40,217 $41,826 4%
Boca Raton $50,535 n/a n/a
STARTING PARAMEDIC PAY
Department Current Next year % increase
Palm Beach County $48,797 $50,260 3%
Lake Worth $37,299 $49,705 *33%
Town of Palm Beach $47,585 $49,012 **3%
Boynton Beach $44,259 $45,764 3%
Martin County $39,110 $43,118 10%
St. Lucie County $41,503 $43,083 4%
Stuart $40,217 $41,826 4%
Boca Raton $50,535 n/a n/a
* Lake Worth is operating on a contract that was supposed to expire in 2005. A new contract is being negotiated, and the proposed raises would be retroactive to Oct. 1, 2005.
** Proposed in new contract but not yet approved by town council.