Town, firefighters head back to bargaining table

The town and its firefighters will find themselves in a familiar place this week: the bargaining table.

The latest round of negotiations between the town and the Longboat Key International Association of Firefighters Union are scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, May 4.

Town Manager David Bullock declined to comment about what positions the town would take in upcoming negotiations.

“Under collective bargaining laws, we’re required to conduct our negotiations publicly,” he said. “It’s important that I respect that.”

Longboat Key Fire Rescue District Vice President Brandon Desch could not be reached for comment.
The town met with firefighters for negotiation March 28, according to Bullock, during which firefighters didn’t present a contract proposal but discussed their concerns with the town.

According to the town’s human resources manager, Lisa Silvertooth, raises and pensions were the two major areas of concern.

Like other town employees, firefighters haven’t received pay increases since 2008, a factor they have said hurts morale and the department’s competitiveness with other departments.

The last session included a discussion on which municipalities the town should use as comparables to consider salaries and benefits and agreed to include the cities of Tampa, North Port, Clearwater, Winter Park and Marco Island and Hillsborough and Sarasota counties.

Firefighters also expressed interest in high-deductible, health-savings accounts, according to Silvertooth.
Pensions will likely be discussed at greater length during Friday’s meeting.

Currently, the town provides for normal retirement for firefighters after 25 years of credited service, regardless of age, or after 10 years of service for those 55 years or older with a multiplier of 3.5%, according to the current contract, meaning that a 55-year-old employee with 10 years of service would receive 35% of the average of the last five years’ worth of pay.

Firefighters are currently working under a contract ratified last May that became retroactively effective Oct. 1, 2009, and expired Sept. 30, 2011.

During the negotiations that led up to that contract, the town agreed it wouldn’t impose a mandate to not count vacation and sick leave as compensation when determining a final payout for retired employees.

That means that a firefighter who earned $60,000 during the last five years of employment and accrued $30,000 worth of vacation and sick leave would have the payout added in, which would bring the average to $66,000.

Firefighters agreed that they would not receive pay raises for the 2009-10 fiscal year and accepted a “me too” clause for the 2010-11 fiscal year in which they would only receive the step and cost-of-living allowance increases, if any, that non-bargaining town employees received.

The town also eliminated its 401k match for firefighters in its most recent contract.

Contract negotiations begin at 9 a.m. Friday, May 4, at Longboat Key Town Hall, and are open to the public, as required by Florida laws.