Posted on 03/04/2017 6:57:28 PM PST by bkopto
Despite ever-tightening budgets, hefty paydays are actually becoming the norm for a lot of firefighters.
In 2015, some firefighters with the San Ramon Valley Fire District were making as much as $400,000 a year in total compensation, CBS San Francisco reports. More than half of the full-time employees at the department make more than $300,000 in total compensation a year, according to data collected by the watchdog group Transparent California.
“Does it make sense that a battalion chief in San Ramon should earn $300,000 when our governor only earns $180,000 a year in compensation?” said Jack Weir, president of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association.
But one department said that paying out a lot of overtime is actually saving taxpayers money.
San Ramon Valley Fire Chief Paige Meyer says the $300,000 figure doesn’t tell the whole story. That number includes pension and benefits, so in reality, he says, firefighters take home about half of their total compensation.
“So, if someone makes $1, we ending up close to spending 90 cents for their pension, so that’s $1.90, roughly,” Meyer said. “And then we also have the costs of healthcare.”
Meyer said pension and healthcare obligations can mean it’s cheaper to pay a firefighter overtime instead of hiring someone new and adding an extra set of benefits costs.
“Saving can be upwards of 25 to 30 percent,” Meyer said.
Firefighters are guaranteed about 70 percent of their income after retirement in their 50s.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
As I remember from my Tea Party days about 8 years ago in Rockland County NY, we found out the ASSISTANT Chief of Police in Clarkstown was making over $300,000.00 yearly, about 100k more than NYC Police Chief, Ray Kelly. We had one of “official” Rockland’s spokesmen (actually an older woman) and she explained it wasn’t fair that we brought it up, that we weren’t taking into account all kinds of things,like “seniority”. We just shook our heads. They have their own language and their own universe, well-protected against ours.
Okay then I guess those firefighters sent on huge watershed fires can only work 8-5 and then let the fire burn through the night. See how that works? Hubby used to go out on strike teams and come home 7 days later with no more rest than a cat nap here or there on the ground somewhere.
When he worked ot he would work back to back 48 hr shifts at the stations.
He was division boss on a huge fire in Montana once for BLM and he said they did work 8-5. Federal rules. Lol
No shortage of applicants. They’ll get 400 apps for 10 positions.
That is insane! California firefighters also get unsustainable amounts of money in retirement.
You weren’t paying attention. The guy that made the $300 k worked almost every single day all year long. Most of it was ot and benefits. They start out in academy at about $3300 per month regular salary. In California that’s not much.
>>Most taxpayers don’t get such pensions.
Most taxpayers don’t spend their career fighting fires. Ever been inside a burning building?
They aren’t really paid that much. A lot of that $400k is overtime and the taxpayers demand it. They say “don’t hire so many firefighters” and then they say “give us the protection we want 24/7”. You can’t ask them, “which one do you want?” because their answer is “both”. So, you get OT.
Oh please......construction is more dangerous than firefighting...firefighters are way overpaid for the work they do. Their pensions are way out of line.
We are hiring more and more firefighters for less and less fires...it’s a union racket
That is insane! California firefighters also get unsustainable amounts of money in retirement.
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That’s why their total compensation amounts are so high. Almost is half is pension so they can retire as young multimillionaires. Many of them work second jobs, too.
” ..... but I guarantee that they were working 24/7 for a long time during those fires.”
I doubt it.
He is on call for any and every station and works every single holiday.
...
Volunteer firefighters are on call all the time, too. Public unions are out of hand.
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>>Most taxpayers don’t get such pensions.
Most taxpayers don’t spend their career fighting fires. Ever been inside a burning building?
>
Well, I didn’t know we FORCED anyone into these positions. Tell me, how does it come to our boys overseas in the Hell pits of the M.E.
>
They aren’t really paid that much. A lot of that $400k is overtime and the taxpayers demand it. They say “don’t hire so many firefighters” and then they say “give us the protection we want 24/7”. You can’t ask them, “which one do you want?” because their answer is “both”. So, you get OT.
>
Demand? As a taxpayer, how do *I* do that? Do I also say, “Rack up the OT, which union rules, thanks to the bending-over over the arbiters of your contracts (aka the ‘elected’, whom also represent said taxpayer...but don’t think of it as a conflict of interest, they are there to make sure ALL sides are represented *wink wink*) make me your economic slave should you fight fire every day, or sit in the fire-house.”
How ‘bout we got back to a service oriented setup. You want fire protection, YOU pay for it? ....like insurance.
Or, maybe, more local VOLUNTEER FFs, paid by the above.
Nobody’s forcing anyone to do SH!T. The job’s too ‘tough’...then find another more to your suiting. The taxpayers don’t owe anyone a golden parachute for life for a voluntary position.
I live in a rural fire district that covers 224 square miles. The entire annual budget is $112,000.
The manpower number is 22.
Did you know that 80% of the firefighters in the USA are volunteers?
Sounds like Moonbeam needs a raise
If ya like being looted, conned and lied to, you’ll love CA.
Except when it is your house with your children inside.
Let’s play the drama.
They are public servants. If they don’t want to do the job for a reasonable amount, I am sure plenty others would sign up.
And no way they should be working that many hours. They’re a safety risk if they do so.
>>Well, I didn’t know we FORCED anyone into these positions.
Where did I say that anyone was FORCED into it, dimwit? It’s a career, like any other career. You choose it. People pay you what it takes to retain you. But it is a career that requires you to enter burning buildings which is a hell of a lot more demanding that being a stock broker or $400k/yr CEO. But you probably believe they are worth their $400k since they “create wealth”.
The Hopedale Fire Department, for example, gets three to four calls in a 24-hour period, according to Daige, but just eight to 12 fires a year.
This is fairly normal......most municipalities should go to semi professional firefighters....hire a few but rely on most to be volunteers.....less than 5 percent of their runs are for fires and most of those are small kitchen fires
I’m paying attention. Those ff deserve to make what combat soldiers make.
Uh...
What’s an excetaline welding outfit ?
Our county is over 8000 square miles. Volunteer fire department. Lol. Yeah right.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kern_County,_California
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