Five-year contract includes elimination of retirement health benefits for hires after July 1
 
By Daniel E. Goren
Hartford Courant (Connecticut)
Copyright 2007 The Hartford Courant Company
All Rights Reserved

HARTFORD, Conn. — The Hartford firefighters union has agreed to a new five-year contract that does away with retirement health benefits for its newest employees, potentially saving the city more than $100 million over the next four decades, city officials said Tuesday.

The contract, which extends through 2012, eliminates the health benefits for firefighters hired after July 1. The new firefighters and the city will instead pay a percentage of each firefighter's salary into a deferred compensation account, allowing them to pay for their own health insurance when they retire.

As cities and towns throughout Connecticut struggle with ballooning post-employment costs, Hartford finds itself ahead of most municipalities in reducing that burden. According to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, out of a database of 300 unionized contracts throughout the state, only 10 have taken similar steps to Hartford.

"Clearly, Hartford is at the cutting edge of a coming trend where towns are trying to manage their benefits and provide for savings," said Kevin Maloney, spokesman for the CCM. "Hartford is taking steps that are being done by only a handful of other towns that tend to be progressive and well run."

City and union officials described the agreement as a kind of quid pro quo -- each group protecting its future financial stability. For union members, new members still have a way to pay for health insurance while the city protects its bond rating and reduces its future costs. Right now, the city faces what officials describe as a nearly unmanageable $350 million in post-employment benefits for all its employees, not including its pension costs.

The firefighters new deal chips away at that liability, but not at the expense of its fire service, union officials said Tuesday.

"It is an honest and fair contract," said Tom DiScipio, president of the union. "It takes care of our future membership very well, and it also takes the burden off the city ... We believe it was good for everybody."

The Hartford Firefighters Association, Local 760, represents about 330 employees in the fire department, from firefighters to deputy chiefs.

The contract was approved by the city council Monday after more than eight months of negotiations between the city's human resources department and the union.

In a prepared statement issued by Sarah Barr, the city's director of communications, Mayor Eddie A. Perez described the agreement as a "win-win situation for our firefighters, our residents and our city."

Under the new contract, firefighters will see a 2 percent raise for the first year, and then about a 3.5 percent raise for each of the next four years, city officials said. But because the raises are phased in -- split between six month intervals each year -- the cost to the city is about 2.81 percent a year.

In place of retirement health benefits, newly hired firefighters will have to pay 1 percent of their salary into a deferred compensation account, though they can choose to pay a higher percentage. The city will also pay annually 2.5 percent of the maximum firefighters salary -- a 2007 value of about $1,500 -- into the same account. For an employee who has a 25-year career, the new benefit will amount to nearly $56,000, city officials said.

The union also agreed to a transitional duty program, allowing those firefighters out on injured leave to return for light duty earlier than had previously been allowed. According to city officials, studies have shown that returning for light duty gets firefighters back on full duty more quickly, potentially saving the city on overtime costs.

The new contract will also allow the chief to establish an official code of conduct, which the department currently lacks, city officials said.

And in the new agreement, when funding becomes available, firefighters assigned to tactical and ladder companies will be trained as Hazmat technicians, enabling them to take over those responsibilities.