By Paul Sisson
The North County Times
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Despite eleventh-hour concessions offered by firefighters, the city has moved forward on a plan to cut costs by axing three management-level positions in the Oceanside Fire Department.
Oceanside fire Chief Terry Garrison said Monday that no department workers will lose their jobs in the change, which took effect Sunday. Instead, two fire captains and one division chief have been moved one rung down the pay scale, filling three of six vacant firefighter positions.
Garrison said eliminating the higher-level jobs will affect the Fire Department’s ability to handle large-scale incidents in the city.
“You need to have a management structure in place to support the firefighters,” Garrison said. “If you have one traffic accident and one house fire at the same time, we’re behind the eight ball on command staff.”
The cuts will save the city about $450,000, Garrison said. He said firefighters and the unions that represent them had recently offered to forgo their uniform allowances and 16 hours of paid holiday time off in an effort to save the three jobs.
Oceanside City Attorney John Mullen said Monday the proposal was rejected by a 3-2 vote of the City Council during a closed-session meeting Wednesday. Councilmen Rocky Chavez, Jack Feller and Jerry Kern voted against the idea. Feller said it was because the offer was made too late in the budget process.
The council approved the 2009-10 fiscal year budget June 10, though officials have warned additional cuts will be necessary to deal with an expected $14 million shortfall. A new round of budget talks is planned for Sept. 13.
“They chose (to offer the concession) after the budget was already passed,” Feller said of the union proposal. “If they had come to us before ... it probably would have passed during the budget hearing.”
Councilwoman Esther Sanchez and Mayor Jim Wood wanted the concessions approved. Like Garrison, Wood said Monday that he is concerned that eliminating the management positions will hurt the city’s ability to respond to large events such as the Juliet fire that came close to scorching hundreds of homes in the city’s northeast quadrant in October.
“I’m very disappointed in the council majority,” Wood said, adding that the council majority chose to “jettison public safety” by rejecting the proposal.
Garrison said vacant firefighting positions are typically filled by firefighters working overtime. Paying overtime is considered a cheaper alternative than hiring full-time employees, because the city saves on benefits and insurance costs.
Copyright 2009 North County Times