By Richard Weizel 
Connecticut Post Online

STRATFORD, Conn. — Firefighters who retire on disability pensions will receive only half their salaries under a state arbitration panel's decision that ends the town's decade-long battle with the firefighters' union.

The ruling, issued by the three-member panel on Oct. 12, was hailed by Mayor James R. Miron as "one of the most significant arbitration victories in Stratford's history."

Union officials, however, vowed to appeal.

"What all this means is that firefighters have, in many instances, been making out better by retiring with liability pensions than regular pensions," Miron said, joined by a group of town officials and negotiators in announcing the decision Monday at Town Hall.

"Since similar changes were made regarding the police union years ago, we have had only one or two police officers apply for disability pensions," he said.

The arbitration panel's decision means firefighters who leave on disability pensions will receive only half of their salary, based on their previous 24-month period of earnings. Under the former agreement, they received two-thirds of their salary based on the previous 12 months of earnings.

Conversely, firefighters who retire after 30 years and receive regular pensions will earn as much as 70 percent of their salary, which includes overtime -- up from the former 60 percent. Miron said the town will save an immediate $2.5 million, and $15.2 million over the next 23 years.

The mayor said that under the ruling, next year's operating budget could also be reduced by $400,000 as a result of an increase in firefighters' individual contributions to the pension account, from formerly 6 percent to 8 percent.

Most of the savings will be realized in Stratford's underfunded pension liability account, which now totals $68.5 million, Miron said.

The mayor said a total of 59 issues were decided in the ruling, with 43 going in the town's favor, including what he said were the 15 most significant issues. He blamed most of the delay on the union's stalling tactics.

"Let's face it, the status quo was good for them, and they wanted to keep things the same as long as they could," Miron said.

But Kevin Lantowsky, president of Local 998 of the International Association of Firefighters, said the union will appeal the decision shortly in Superior Court. He blamed the ruling's delays on the town's mismanagement and constantly changing councils and former town managers.

"We are very concerned with the impact this will have on the catastrophic types of injuries that befall firefighters in the prime and middle years of their life," Lantowsky said.

"We realize the town needs to reduce money in the pension account, but we have union members hit with some significant back, leg and neck injuries that make it impossible for them to ever work again," he said. "Half of their salaries is not enough.

"Some of those injuries have also occurred because we are frankly understaffed and send out four or five less firefighters to a typical house fire than what national standards call for," Lantowsky said.

"Firefighting is very different than any other type of work in the risks we are subject to every day," he said. "We are often thrown into immediate life-and-death situations."

Miron and labor negotiator David Dunn, however, said two-thirds of firefighters collecting pensions are on disability pensions — 71 out of 110 people.

When asked if some firefighters were undeservedly collecting disability pensions, Miron said, "We've had many controversial pension-liability cases, and our goal is to reduce or end them."

Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved