Posted on 04/26/2006 8:49:09 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO – The Schwarzenegger administration yesterday closed a pension loophole that would have allowed some state firefighters to retire with pensions higher than their final salaries.
But the move does not address the state fire department's troubling high vacancy rate among top manager positions – 34 out of 151 division chief positions – that some fear could weaken response and jeopardize safety as the fire season begins.
The excessive pensions, which may have been limited to about a dozen people, stem from the same lucrative labor contract that gives rank-and-file firefighters more pay than supervisors, making the top jobs hard to fill.
Some fear that the shortage could result in supervisors being assigned to quickly organize fire response plans in unfamiliar places, leaving their base areas more vulnerable.
“You don't have your depth of resources that can go in and manage these very complex fires,” said Gary Gilbert, a retired regional chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who served 36 years.
“With the lack of institutional knowledge, you could end up with more injuries and catastrophic accidents to some of the employees,” said Gilbert, who is a Madera County supervisor and a fire department consultant.
Terry McHale, a spokesman for the state firefighters union members, who are managed by the nonunion supervisors, said the vacancies in top positions present a serious problem.
“I don't want to get people alarmed, but I will tell you it is a source of concern in CDF,” said McHale. “It needs to be fixed before we reach critical mass.”
A spokesman for the state fire department, Mike Jarvis, said the positions are being filled if qualified persons can be found.
“Nothing is going to stop the department from doing its responsibility,” Jarvis said. “We have adequate resources to protect the state land and its people.”
With a $1 billion annual budget, the state fire department provides protection for rural areas, including parts of San Diego County, and an increasing number of urban areas.
A labor contract negotiated five years ago by former Gov. Gray Davis' administration and approved by the Legislature will have increased pay by 40 percent to 50 percent when it expires in June, the state Department of Finance estimates.
The contract was intended to make the pay of state firefighters comparable to the pay of municipal firefighters.
On the final day of the contract, June 30, the longer workweek used during fire season will be extended year-round, resulting in an average 22 percent increase in total pay, according to the state's Legislative Analyst.
Instead of the current 53-hour week during nonfire season, which is often six months in wetter areas of the state, firefighters will begin working a 72-hour week with 19 hours of planned overtime year-round.
The state estimates that pay for the 265 battalion chief positions will increase to $130,579 at the top step. Pay for fire captains, now 1,340 positions, will increase to $103,266 at the top step.
Several firefighters working in dry Southern California areas that already have a year-round fire season said the salary estimates are too high.
Shortly after the contract was approved, the Davis administration agreed to reclassify battalion chiefs, who had been nonunion supervisors, as rank-and-file employees covered by the new contract.
The change has boosted the pay of battalion chiefs above the pay of their immediate supervisors, the nonunion division chiefs, in some cases by $10,000 to $20,000 a year.
As a result, a battalion chief who accepts a promotion to division chief would take a pay cut, making the position hard to fill. Some division chiefs have requested demotions to battalion chief to boost their pay.
When the contract gave firefighters the same pension benefits as highway patrolmen Jan. 1, the Schwarzenegger administration did not give nonunion supervisors the same increased pension package.
Pension officials ruled that the administration had created dual retirement plans for firefighters who have held union and nonunion posts, allowing some to receive pensions higher than their final salaries.
The Schwarzenegger administration said yesterday that nonunion supervisors will receive the same increased pension plan as union members, retroactive to Jan. 1, closing the loophole.
Pat Macht, a spokeswoman for the California Public Employees Retirement System, said the dozen or more retirees since Jan. 1 thought to be eligible for dual pensions will likely be capped at 90 percent of their final salary.
... the move does not address the state fire department's troubling high vacancy rate among top manager positions – 34 out of 151 division chief positions – that some fear could weaken response and jeopardize safety as the fire season begins.
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plugging holes yet signficant gaps remain..
Of course, Gavin Newsom, Mayor SF had this thrifty idea of turning Firemen into COPS during an emergency, in order to fill his own gap in San Francisco... Turning firemen into cops. Like, uh, during the usual riots in SF?
Will hoses be outlawed next?
"....stem from the same lucrative labor contract that gives rank-and-file firefighters more pay than supervisors, making the top jobs hard to fill."
This is not hard to find in the private sector where hourly staffing cut backs have been off set by very high level of overtime.
If you know any I&M guys in AT&T they can support this notion.
"The Schwarzenegger administration yesterday closed a pension loophole that would have allowed some state firefighters to retire with pensions higher than their final salaries."
Conspicuously absent is the name of the individual wrote the loophole into law to begin with...
Gastric Nuance, uh, I mean Gavin Newsome needs a good hosing down ,, at least twice a day.
What a pitiful example of 'gubamint' runamuck SF has become.
Firefighters are a proper government expense, but here is another example of how government spending goes haywire even when the category of expense is valid.
$100,000/yr salaries for jobs that require nothing more than a high-school diploma. Pensions that are 90%+ of final salary. Retirement at 50.
This is ridiculous. My SS + Pension won't even total 40% of salary. If I want to eat in rtirement, I'm expected to actually SAVE SOME OF MY OWN SALARY. Apparently California public-safety employees can spend every dime they make and count on the State paying them their full salary for the rest of their lives.
I know Gray Davis was bought off, and Brown in the 70's did the same, but this is ridiculous. Obviously, California politicians cannot be trusted to safeguard the public purse. In California, we have the initiative process. I wish it could be used to nullify these union contracts and force all future compensation packages to be approved in a general election.
"Gastric Nuance?"
lol. Hadn't heard that one. It's fitting.
He is kind of a cross between al gore and john kerry.. so it was either
Gastric Nuisance or Gastric Nuance..
he easily outsmarms both of them, imo. ;-)
Not totally sure, but that statement is probably unwise........
The problem is they don't hire enough full time people to save insurance costs and end up paying tons of overtime during fireseasons.
When the retirements are figure based on the actual amount payed to the "only high school trained" rescue personell it comes out higher than the listed salary because of the overtimne.
The retirement is adjusted accordingly because its what they were getting paid. Not the fault of the firemen.
Firefighter salaries top out at $50,000 a year in Houston. Entry level is under $35,000.
I guess California firefighters are a lot better.
Las Vegas firefighters must be just as good.
Dufus, are you saying the pension is 90%+ of some lower base salary and not their actual earnings ? Where did it say that in the article ? Or are you referencing some other source ?
Other sources I checked reiterated that Firefighters, Police and other public-safety pensioners retire with 3% of salary for every year of service and can retire at 50. If they started at 20, then that is 90% of salary.
The comparison to the 40% that my SS + Pension will pay is still valid. My figures are based on my base salary as well -- bonuses, overtime, etc. don't count toward my pension or SS either.
The bottom line is that these people are overpaid, don't need to save for retirement themselves, and still can retire at 50 with the equivalent of 90% of their working salary. That's a gravy train.
ROFL!
Probably. But "gap" (gender, wage, poverty economics) is such the "rage" to use in newspaper articles these days...
It's true! lol.
When Gavin had to "rescind" the marriage licenses of those he "wedded" at City Hall, two women I knew through someone else, were horrified. Simplify horrified that evil rightwingers would do such a thing to ole' Gavin -- "just to make him look bad".
When they burped out with that one, the room cleared, instantly.
BTW social security was not meant to be your total retirement income. If you don't have more than that its gonna be tough.
I didn't say the firefighters were scoundrels. I said the politicians that were supposed to be watching the public purse are scoundrels.
You are correct that SS is not supposed to be a sole retirement income. Neither is a pension. If you want a decent retirement, you are expected to save beyond those two programs. Save 20% of your gross if you want to retire with 100% of your old salary. And work for 40 years rather than 30.
My point is that the firefighters' pension is so generous -- at taxpayer expense -- that they DO NOT have to do any saving of their own. They can live off their ENTIRE paycheck and don't need to save a dime, and still have the same retirement standard of living as somebody else earning 20% more.
Its not a situation that the taxpayer pays all the retirement. In fact the interest earned on the employees contribution most likely covers alot of it if the fund is managed right.
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