The Herald-Palladium
BENTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Fire Chief Dan Durham and Police Chief Vince Fetke will become Benton Township contract employees in a move expected to save the township nearly a $1 million over six years.
The Township Board on Wednesday approved the contracts. The respective firefighters and police officers unions signed off on the deals in December.
“It’s good for them, and it’s very good for us, also,” Township Superintendent Elden Piontek said Wednesday.
The deal capitalizes on a unique opportunity, Piontek said. Both men retired Monday after 25 years of service. The board voted Wednesday to rehire them immediately under the new terms, Piontek said.
The two agreed to work for lower salaries and forego fringe benefits. However, the township under federal law must continue Social Security contributions.
Piontek estimated the total net savings on both contracts at $500,778 for Durham, and $491,334 for Fetke.
Wednesday’s action wouldn’t have been possible without the police command and firefighters’ unions, whose approval was needed to reopen both contracts, and then amend them as presented Wednesday, Piontek said.
“A big ‘thank you’ goes out to both those units. They worked very well with us in trying to save money,” he said.
Both men will continue to work full-time and be able to draw their pensions, he said.
The board unanimously approved Durham’s contract, but split 5-1 on Fetke’s agreement.
Supervisor Nora Jefferson, Clerk Carolyn Phillips, Treasurer Debbie Boothby and Trustees Carolyn Fowler and Kevin White supported Fetke’s contract, with Trustee Cathy Yates dissenting. Trustee Rosie Hudson was absent.
Both contracts run through 2018. The township will spend $339,534 on Durham’s new contract - including $315,406 in wages and $24,128 on Social Security contributions, as federal law requires, according to an outline given to board members.
Durham will earn $50,000 this year, and finish at $55,204 in 2018, the outline shows.
Had Durham’s previous contract remained in place, the township would have spent $840,313 through 2018, including $485,556 on wages, $139,593 on health insurance, and $37,145 in Social Security contributions, the outline shows.
Fetke’s contract is structured along similar lines.
The township expects to spend $373,488, including $349,946 in wages and $26,541 on Social Security costs, the outline shows. Fetke will earn $55,000 this year and finish at $60,724 in 2018.
The previous terms would have required spending $864,822, including $510,185 for wages, $139,593 on health insurance, and $39,029 for Social Security, the outline shows.
Yates explained her dissent on Fetke’s contract during board comments.
“I’d like to see our police department use more technology with our businesses, and see our chief out there more so people actually know who the chief is,” she said.
Yates said she wanted to see more action on scams targeting seniors “because we all know those things surface all the time.”
After the meeting, Durham, Fetke and Piontek agreed that the unions’ actions provided the crucial element in making the deal happen.
“We were very fortunate, in that they both happened to have their time in, and the unions were very cooperative,” Piontek said.
As Fetke said, he and Durham started together in 1987, saying, “We both hired in on the same day.”
“We took the physical agility test together,” Durham said.
Fetke has been chief since February 2006 while Durham has held his current position since November 2005.
Both votes by the Police Command Union and International Association of Firefighters Local 1562 were unanimous, Piontek said. He didn’t recall the specific date, but said that both unions acted a couple weeks ago.
Piontek said he expects other money-saving proposals to follow now that both chiefs’ contracts have been resolved.
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