By Troy Graham
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILDELPHIA — Because the city won’t be able to hire another firefighter until late 2012, Councilman Brian J. O’Neill wants the mayor to allow 70 firefighters set to retire through the DROP program to stay on the job for an extra year.
The administration has budgeted overtime in fiscal year 2012 to cover for an expected shortfall of 98 firefighters, O’Neill said.
But, he said, covering that shortage with overtime would be a strain on the department and could diminish its response to emergencies.
“People on overtime who are burned out are not the same as a firefighter coming to work fresh,” O’Neill said.
Mark McDonald, a spokesman for Mayor Nutter, said the administration had discussed the idea with Council leadership, including O’Neill, and is “reviewing the proposal at this point.”
Because of recent court challenges to the fairness of firefighter exams around the country, the city is devising a new entrance test that could stand up to legal scrutiny. The city won’t be able to hire until that exam is in place.
The DROP program allows certain city workers to commit to a retirement date in the future and then collect a lump pension payment at that time.
In 2008, Nutter used the “extraordinary extension” clause in the DROP ordinance to allow certain police officers to remain on the job, O’Neill noted.
He wants the mayor to invoke that clause again for the 70 firefighters set to leave through the DROP program late this year and into 2012. O’Neill said he did not discuss his resolution with firefighters before introducing it.
Council is scheduled to vote on O’Neill’s resolution, which is nonbinding, at next week’s meetings.
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