Town sides with St. Denis

Nineteen months of discussions about a new Longboat Key Fire Rescue contract have come down to this: Both sides must either ratify a new contract that expires in six months or keep the status quo that includes some modifications.

Either way, both the town and the firefighters will head back to the drawing board almost immediately to try and work out a new three-year contract that includes concessions with which both sides can live.

The Longboat Key Town Commission sided with the town manager’s position on all three points of contract contention between the town and the firefighters at an impasse hearing Wednesday, March 2, at Town Hall.

The seven commissioners voted 7-0 on two of Town Manager Bruce St. Denis’ positions, which include that:

• The town should no longer count sick or leave time as hours worked for overtime purposes.

• The town should no longer count vacation and sick leave as compensation when determining a final pension payout for retired employees.

A third point of contention, which involves the town decreasing the Deferred Retirement Options Plan (DROP) period for firefighters from three years to two years, was approved by a 6-1 vote. Commissioner Lynn Larson dissented, but only because she wanted a stipulation included that employees in the DROP program shall not be eligible for a promotion by the town.

Employees in the DROP plan still work for the town but are effectively retired, and their pension payments are no longer included in the pension plan and are instead placed in a separate savings account.

Now town labor attorney Reynolds Allen will complete a contract that expires Sept. 30, including the points on which the commission agreed. The commission and the firefighters now must ratify the contract.
If the firefighters, however, do not ratify the contract, the three points decided upon by the commission will go into effect with the status quo while both sides continue to come to an agreement over a new contract.

If the firefighters choose not to ratify the contract that would also mean that three issues that a special magistrate threw out of inclusion in a new contract two months ago would also come into effect. Those include:

• The right for a firefighter to be terminated immediately if he or she is not up-to-date on state certifications.

• A 401(k) match by the town.

• Six hours of comp time if a firefighter is absent for a non-work related injury.

So, although the firefighters could lose an overtime benefit and a payout benefit for final pension payout purposes, the town would be forced to continue matching firefighter 401(k) contributions.

Now both the town and the firefighters will begin negotiating a new three-year contract and try to come to an agreement before the status quo contract expires Sept. 30.

But after almost two years, negotiations haven’t proven to be easy.

The town has made it clear it will not spend any money on a new contract. Town Manager Bruce St. Denis emphasized that again at the impasse hearing last week.

“I am one of the biggest supporters of the Longboat Key Fire Department,” St. Denis said. “But in the past few years, the town and world are facing economic conditions we have not seen in our working years.
The recommendations being brought forward are not intended to be punitive. They are part of an attempt to re-establish a balance.”

St. Denis noted that none of the proposals the town brought forward in the last year reflected a reduction in value for any time a firefighter spends on the job.

The firefighters, however, believe rising pension costs have affected the town’s stance, and they don’t believe the town is in dire financial shape.

“Many communities are in far worse shape with their tax base than the town of Longboat Key,” said firefighter union attorney Jim Brantley, who stated that unfunded pension liability should not be used against the firefighters for contract negotiations. “Should this bargaining unit continue to pay the price for decisions they had no control over?”

Allen, however, said pension cots have nothing to do with a new contract.

“When we started this process 19 months ago, we told the firefighters we would extend their contract a year with no changes because we weren’t willing to spend a dime,” Allen said. “That was rejected, and here we are.”

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]