The Villages Professional Firefighters are asking for salary increases and at least want to start a “conversation” about becoming part of the Firefighters Retirement System.
Local 4770 International Association of Firefighters held a bargaining session Monday morning with Villages District officials at Eisenhower Recreation Center.
A large number of firefighters were in the room as union officials sat at a table across from District Manager Janet Tutt, Fire Chief Edmund Cain, Deborah Franklin of the District’s Human Resources Department and Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Day.
Union officials said the Villages Public Safety Department has been plagued with high turnover because pay and retirement benefits are better in other communities.
Attorney Jim Brantley, representing the firefighters, presented a detailed proposal which would raise the starting pay for EMTs to $40,000 per year. It would bump the starting salary for a paramedic to $50,000 and a starting lieutenant’s pay to $57,500.
The starting salary for an EMT in The Villages is $33,600, according to the union.
Brantley conceded the increase would boost the payroll from $3.78 million to $4.469 million. To soften the blow, he said the union would be willing to take a two-year salary freeze after the increases are put in place during the first year of a three-year contract.
Even then, The Villages would still be “in the middle of the pack,” Brantley said.
“It would in no way put The Villages at the top of the heap in either starting or top-out pay,” he said.
The real problem is turnover, union representatives said.
In five years, the Villages Public Safety Department has lost 109 employees.
Most of them are younger employees looking for better wages.
“We barely get them trained and then they go,” said Lt. Chris Kruber, vice president of the local union.
The current staffing is under 90, he added.
Brantley said the volume of calls answered by Villages firefighters has grown by 228 percent throughout the history of the department. By comparison, the ranks in the Villages Public Safety Department has grown by 72 percent.
He said he has concerns about safety for the Villages firefighters.
Tutt characterized those figures as “grandstanding” and said “the history of The Villages” has demonstrated The Villages’ commitment to public safety.
Another concern is about retirement.
Villages firefighters want to be part of the Firefighters Retirement System. Currently, they are in a 401A retirement program.
Brantley cited the case of a lieutenant who has been with the Villages Public Safety Department since 2004. He currently has $100,000 in his 401A account. During his 30-year career, he will likely amass $300,000 to $400,000.
“Would you want to live how many more years of your life on $300,000 to $400,000?” Brantley asked.
Both side agreed to meet again in March.
