HomeMy WebLinkAbout8397-93 Annual Pay & Monetary Fringe Benefits of Firefighters 1994, 1995 & 1996 ORDINANCE No. 8397-93
Passed by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana_
July 29, 93
Attest: City Clerk
IRENE K. GAMMON
Attest: President of Common Council
Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana
Jl_�ly 30, 93
'co
City Clerk
IRENE K. GAMMON
Approved and signed by me r 3 D �9 93
°` Mayor
.
Substitute Bill No. 59-93
Ordinance No._ 7 7- 93
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH
BEND, INDIANA, FIXING THE ANNUAL PAY AND MONETARY FRINGE
BENEFITS OF FIREFIGHTERS OF THE SOUTH BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT
FOR THE CALENDAR YEARS 1994, 1995 AND 1996.
Statement of Purpose and Intent
The South Bend Common Council has the responsibility for fixing by
ordinance the annual compensation of all members of the Fire Department
pursuant to Indiana Code § 36-8-3-3 (d).
A City Negotiating Team was authorized by the South Bend Common
Council, Board of Public Safety and the City Administration to negotiate on
behalf of the City all pay and monetary fringe benefits for members of the Fire
Department.
The City Negotiating Team and the Wage Committee of the South
Bend Firefighters Association, Local No. 362 reached a tentative agreement on
all pay and monetary fringe benefits issues on Friday, July 16, 1993. The
members of the firefighters union will complete voting on the ratification of
the wage and benefit package on Thursday, July 29, 1993.
The following ordinance sets for the details of the wage and benefit
offer. The City Negotiating Team unanimously recommend that this
ordinance be passed by the South Bend Common Council if the wage and
benefit provisions are ratified by the members of the South Bend Firefighters
Association, Local No. 362. It is believed that this three-year wage and benefit
package is fair and would be in the best interests of the Fire Department, our
Firefighters, and the City of South Bend.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, as follows:
Section I. Designation of Officers and Sworn Members.
(a) The South Bend Common Council recognizes the Wage
Committee of the South Bend Firefighters Association , Local No. 362, as the
sole bargaining unit for the annual pay and monetary fringe benefits which
are addressed in this ordinance for sworn members of the South Bend Fire
Department. "Sworn members" are hereby designated as all firefighters of the
South Bend Fire Department excluding the Fire Chief, Assistant Chiefs, and
Battalion Chiefs for 1994, 1995, and 1996.
(b) The Fire Chief, Assistant Chiefs and Battalion Chiefs of the South
Bend Fire Department are hereby designated as "Officers" in this ordinance.
Section II. Annual Pay Based on Rank.
(a) Annual Pay: Annual pay for the Officers and sworn members of
the South Bend Fire Department, by rank, for calendar years 1994, 1995, and
•
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 2
Rank 1994 1995 1996
Fire Chief $42,250 $43,517 $45,693
Assistant Chiefs $38,350 $39,500 $41,475
Battalion Chiefs $34,250 $35,277 $37,041
Specialist $27,033
Captains $27,033 $27,844 $28,958
Engineers $25,727 $26,500 $27,560
Firefighter 1st Class $21,912 $22,569 $23,472
Firefighter $19,248 $19,825 $20,618
(b) 8-Hour Incentive Pay: The Council recommends that the rank of
Specialist be eliminated, and that an 8-hour incentive pay of $1,000 each year
be paid to those individuals qualified and regularly assigned (not to include
temporary duty assignments (TDY)) to perform any of the following duties:
arson investigation, hazmat coordination, inspections, vehicle and station
maintenance, and those individuals will hold the rank of Captain in order to
perform such duties. Said 8-Hour Incentive Pay shall also be paid to Officers
in 1995 and 1996 only.
(c) 1994 Bonus for Officers: Officers as defined herein shall receive a
bonus of $ 1,000.00 in 1994 only.
(d) Working Out of Classification. If a sworn member is temporarily
assigned to a higher rank, he or she shall be paid while so performing such
duties at the rate of pay for that rank, provided that he or she works that duty
assignment for twenty-four (24) consecutive hours or more.
(e) The following sets forth the service requirements of the following
ranks:
Firefighter: Date of hire until end of calendar year.
Firefighter 1st Class: 1st day of January of the next calendar year
after the date of hire.
Engineer: Promotion to the rank of Engineer shall be
dependent upon the completion of three (3)
full years of service. The Fire Chief shall
forward to the Board of Public Safety the
names of those firefighters eligible for the
Engineer rank not later than the date that he
or she becomes eligible.
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 3
Section III. Overtime,Recall and Speciality Pays.
(a) Overtime and Recall. Any sworn member of the South Bend Fire
Department who is required to work overtime or who is recalled, shall be
paid at the rate of one and one-half (1 1/2) his or her regular hourly rate of
pay. Recall procedures are recommended to be as follows:
(i) The rig list shall be eliminated and the Master List shall be used.
(ii) Current procedures for dropping employees shall remain the same,
except as modified herein.
(iii) Answering machine messages shall be limited to fifteen (15)
seconds. If an employee has a message in excess of fifteen (15) seconds, he or
she will receive a written notice from the Operations Chief to comply with
the fifteen (15) second message. If it is not complied with within twenty-four
(24) hours from the receipt of such notice, he or she will drop to the bottom of
the list.
(iv) Manpower Pool: Effective January 1, 1994, the Department will
create a manpower pool consisting of eight (8) employees per shift whose
primary assignment will be Central Fire Station. The Riding Chief will have
the discretion as to assignment of employees from the Manpower Pool. The
Department will, in December of 1993, ask for employees who may be
interested in being placed into this Pool in January of 1994. If the Department
does not have sufficient volunteers, up to twenty-four (24) firefighters, with
the eight (8) least seniority per shift excluding drivers, will be placed in this
pool. Assigned Paramedics who are on a rotation basis, will be placed in this
pool with no more than one (1) paramedic in the pool at any given time.
Every member of the Manpower Pool will be assigned to a vacation group by
the Operations Chief.
(v) Primary Recall shall be recall that is conducted at 0720 which is
necessary to bring the shift up to minimum manpower.
(vi) Secondary Recall shall be recall that is done after the Primary
Recall has been completed for the shift. Employees who work twelve (12)
hours or more will be dropped to the bottom of the list.
(vii) Recall Pay: Employees will have one (1) hour to report for duty.
The computer system will be modified to allow Employees to review their
positions on the Master List. This policy is recommended in its entirety to the
Board of Public Safety for their review, approval and incorporation in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement.
(b) Specialty Pays. The following speciality pays shall be paid in the
following amounts. All such speciality pays shall be pro-rated to the date of
regular assignment for such special duty or duties and paid accordingly.
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 4
1994 1995 1996
$515 $530 $540
2. Scuba Divers. For regularly assigned firefighters who meet
the requirements of the Fire Department's Dive Team:
1994 1995 1996
$643 $660 $670
3. Medical Specialty Pays:
(i) Paramedics 3 years+. For regularly assigned firefighters
who are qualified and certified to perform paramedic duties and have been
performing as paramedics or reserve paramedics for the department for the
three (3) previous full years or more of service:
1995 1996
$2,200 $2,400
(ii) Paramedics. For regularly assigned firefighters who
are qualified and certified to perform paramedic duties:
1994 1995 1996
$1,415 $1,850 $2,000
(iii) Reserve Paramedics. For qualified and certified 24-
hour firefighters who are assigned to perform duties of an active paramedic
on an as needed basis when determined necessary by the Fire Chief or his
designee:
1994 1995 1996
$425 $775 $800
(iv) Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMT).
For firefighters who are certified and qualified to provide advanced life
support (ALS) care:
1995 1996
$600 $650
(v) Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). For
firefighters who are certified to provide basic life support (BLS) treatment:
1994 1995 1996
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 5
(vi) First Responders. For firefighters who are certified
and are the first persons to arrive at an incident requiring emergency medical
care:
1995 1996
$200 $200
(vii) Payment Procedures for Medical Specialties.
Beginning in 1995, firefighters performing any of the above described duties
listed as a Medical Speciality shall be paid at the rate of pay listed for his or her
highest certification only.
4. Hazmat. For regularly assigned firefighters who meet
the requirements of the Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response
Team:
1994 1995 1996
$772 $800 $820
5. Confined Space Rescue. In the event that the Fire
Department establishes a Confined Space Rescue Team, regularly assigned
firefighters who meet the requirements of the Team shall be paid not less
than $350 in 1995 and 1996.
6. Instruction: (i) In the event that the Fire Department
establishes an on-duty in-house instruction program to teach rookie school,
driving, confined space rescue, rope techniques, water safety, watercraft
techniques, CPR, and other instruction determined necessary for the
Department, qualified firefighters selected to participate in teaching such
instruction shall be additionally paid at the rate of $10.00 per hour with such
payment being consistent with applicable regulations of the State Board of
Accounts.
(ii) The following specialized instruction pay is established for Shift
Instructors: $750 per year for those qualified individuals regularly assigned
by the Fire Chief to perform such duties.
7. Maintenance/Repair and Special Assignment Pays:
(i) SCBA Repair Specialists: The additional rate of $10.00 per hour shall
be paid to those qualified and certified individuals regularly assigned by the
Fire Chief to perform self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) repairs while
on such assignment with such payment being consistent with applicable
regulations of the State Board of Accounts.
(ii) Special Assignments: Individuals assigned by the Fire Chief to
perform special assignments (not including light duty) to include but not be
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 6
8. Payment of Specialty Pays. All specialty pays shall be paid on a bi-
weekly basis except the following:
EMT On or about December 15th
Reserve Paramedic On or about December 15th
AEMT On or about December 15th
First Responder On or about December 15th
Hazmat On or about June 15th and December 15th
Section IV. Clothing Allowance.
(a) Commencing with their second service year, officers and sworn
members shall receive the following annual clothing allowances:
1994 1995 1996
$950 $975 $995
(b) Clothing allowance shall be paid by the City of South Bend in four
(4) equal payments payable on or about March 15th, June 15th, September
15th, and December 15th of each year.
(c) Clothing allowance shall be pro-rated to the date of termination of
employment for all qualifying officers and sworn members.
Section V. Holiday Pay.
(a) Each twenty-four hour firefighter who works a holiday so
designated by the Board of Public Safety may receive the regular hourly rate of
pay for said day for the rank held by said firefighter which is already part of
the annual pay amounts listed in Section II (a), plus the option of receiving
one (1) of the following:
(i) holiday pay for working on said designated holiday in an
amount equal to one hundred and twenty percent (120%) of said firefighter's
regular hourly rate of pay times the number of hours actually worked, or
(ii) holiday pay for working on said designated holiday in an
amount equal to eighty percent (80%) of said firefighter's regular hourly rate
of pay times the number of hours actually worked plus a credit of a total of
ten (10) hours of flex time in the City's Flexible Time Account, if the
maximum hours of the flex time policy have not been reached.
(b) In the event that a firefighter is recalled for a 24-hour duty
assignment to work a designated holiday, said firefighter shall be
compensated as total compensation 2.7 times his or her regular hourly rate of
pay for all hours worked with a minimum of four (4) hours guaranteed.
Section VI. Accumulated Time Buy-Back.
(a) Policy Established. Effective January 1, 1994, all accumulated time
procedures regarding awarding and/or eligibility shall be discontinued.
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 7
1. Fire Department Accumulated Time Account. Accumulated time
accrued through December 31, 1993 will be frozen and kept in a "Fire
Department Accumulated Time Account." An Officer or Sworn member
who has accrued accumulated time through December 31, 1993, will have his
or her time frozen at the rank held on that date.
(i) Except for up to a maximum of forty-eight (48) hours of
unused accumulated time which an individual Employee may wish to have
transferred from his or her frozen unused accumulated time account to the
City's Flexible Time Account, the City shall pay the cash value for all unused
accumulated time verified by the Department by February 28, 1994. The cash
value shall be equivalent to the pay rate of the rank held on December 31,
1993 so long as the rank was held for twelve (12) continuous calendar months
prior thereto. In the event the rank was not so held, the cash value shall be
calculated at the rank held on January 1, 1993.
(ii) Money will be included in the 1994 budget to pay Officers
and Sworn members for their verified unused accumulated time. In the
event that all verified unused accumulated time is unable to be paid in 1994,
the 1995 budget will include money to pay off the remaining verified unused
accumulated time.
(b) Review of Policy. The above-stated Accumulated Time Policy is
subject to review by the State Board of Accounts. Any changes to said policy
recommended by the State Board of Accounts, shall be duly made, with notice
thereof being given by the City to the South Bend Fire Department in a
reasonable manner. This policy is recommended in its entirety to the Board
of Public Safety for their review, approval and incorporation in the Collective
Bargaining Agreement.
Section VII. Flexible Time Account.
(a) Policy Established. Effective January 1, 1994, a Flexible Time
Account shall be established for the Fire Department.
1. Eligibility: All Officers and Sworn members of the South Bend Fire
Department are eligible to establish a line item within the City's Flexible
Time Account.
2. Maximum Hours: The maximum number of hours permitted in
anyone's line item within the Flexible Time Account shall be seventy-two
(72) for twenty-four hour personnel and forty (40) hours for eight-hour
personnel.
3. One-Time Usage of Unused Accumulated Time Hours: A line item
within the City's Flexible Time Account will be established for Officers and
Sworn Members who elect to transfer up to the maximum hours referred to
in sub-paragraph 2 above, from his or her frozen unused accumulated time
account on or before January 31, 1994, with all other unused accumulated
time being paid for by the City as set forth by a separate Article in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 8
(i) Transferring up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours
from his or her sick day bank so long as the provisions of Article 22 of the
Collective Bargaining Agreement have been met; or
(ii) Transferring up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours
from his or her current sick day account; or
(iii) Transferring up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours of
unused vacation time from the previous calendar year.
5. Flex Time Earned by Working Designated Holidays: Flex time
earned pursuant to the terms and conditions of Article 9 K. of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement shall be added as earned to one's line item within the
City's Flexible Time Account up to the maximum limit.
6. Flex Time Option for Working Recall Duty: When a Sworn
Member is recalled to duty pursuant to Article 6 B.2 of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement, such compensation earned may be converted to flex
time so long as the maximum hour provisions of paragraph (a) 2 of this
Section have not been exceeded, and so long as it would not result in a
violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Sworn Member's decision as
to whether he or she will exercise this right to convert to flex time must be
made by the deadline for submitting payroll. If the Sworn member elects not
to convert to flex time, the compensation earned for such recall duty shall be
payable in the next regular pay period.
7. Flex Time Option Regarding Instruction: Officers and Sworn
members earning instruction pay established pursuant to Section III (b) 6 of
this salary ordinance may elect to convert such instruction pay earned to flex
time so long as the maximum hours provisions of paragraph (a) 2 of this
Section are complied with in all instances. If the employee elects to convert
to flex time, the conversion rate regardless of rank shall be: one (1) hour
equals ten dollars ($10.00).
8. Flex Time Option Regarding Private Ambulance Service: A Sworn
member earning flex time pursuant to Article 23 of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement may convert such time as set forth in this Section.
9. Year-End Election: Officers and Sworn members who elect to
exercise the conversion options addressed in paragraph 4 herein must elect to
do so on or before December 1st.
10. Usage of Flex Time: Officers and Sworn members may use hours
from their line item within the City's Flexible Time Account, said hours
being referred to herein as "flex time" pursuant to the criteria set forth in the
applicable Article of the Collective Bargaining Agreement addressing this
topic.
11. Separation From the Department: Any flex time remaining in an
Officer's or Sworn member's account upon his or her retirement, death,
discharge, or resignation from the department shall be paid in one lump sum
payment on the next regular payday following such event, or as soon
thereafter as possible. Payment shall be at the affected individual's regular
•
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 9
(b) Review of Policy. The above-stated Flexible Time Account and
Policy is subject to review by the State Board of Accounts. Any changes to said
policy recommended by the State Board of Accounts, shall be duly made, with
notice thereof being given by the City to the South Bend Fire Department in a
reasonable manner. Said policy is recommended in its entirety to the Board
of Public Safety for its review, approval and incorporation into the Collective
Bargaining Agreement.
Section VIII. Family or Medical Leaves of Absence.
The terms of the Family or Medical Leaves of Absence Policy
addressing New Child Leave, Family Leave, and Employee Family or Medical
Leave requiring the exhaustion at the beginning of such leave of any and all
unused sick time and vacation time shall be subject to the approval of the
Board of Public Safety for all officers , sworn members, and probationary
firefighters of the South Bend Fire Department.
Section IX. Insurance Benefits.
(a) The City shall bear reasonable and necessary costs of hospital,
doctor and any other medical cost incurred by all officers and sworn members
as a result of any injury in the line of duty, or as may be required by applicable
state law. Said injured officer or sworn member may have the choice of
hospital for such in the line of duty injury incurred on the job.
(b) The City shall maintain a comprehensive major medical insurance
program. This program shall contain comprehensive major medical
insurance coverage which includes a $750.00 annual deductible, and which
shall be subject to a 70/30 co-insurance payment up to a limit of $1,500.00 per
year. The contribution by officers and sworn members who desire single
health insurance coverage from the self-funded program of the City shall be
$10.00 per month in plan years 1994, 1995, and 1996. The contribution by
officers and sworn members who desire dependent health insurance coverage
from the self-funded program of the City shall be $50.00 per month in plan
years 1994 and 1995, shall be $55.00 per month in plan year 1996. Benefit
waiting periods for major medical insurance coverage only shall be waived.
(c) The City shall maintain a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)
which shall include a 90/10 co-insurance payment per year up to a limit of
$1,500.00 per year. Prescriptions shall be a part of the PPO deductible.
(d) Pensioners, widows, and dependents who are currently covered by
the City's comprehensive major medical insurance program who desire
continued single health insurance coverage from the self-funded program of
the City shall pay $78.00 per month in plan years 1994, 1995, and 1996; and
those who desire continued dependent health insurance coverage from the
self-funded program of the City shall pay $227.00 per month in plan years
1994, 1995, and 1996. These rates shall also apply to qualifying officers and
sworn members who retire after January 1, 1994.
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 10
(f) The City shall pay Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per month to any officer or
sworn member who elects to leave the City's insurance program to be
covered by another program for which the City makes no contribution.
(g) All other policies addressing Insurance shall be as addressed in
Article 13 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is subject to the
approval of the Board of Public Safety.
Section X. Vacations.
The Common Council recommends that the tentative agreement
reached by the respective Negotiating Team addressing vacations and the
maintaining of the two-tier vacation policy be approved by the Board of
Public Safety. All other policies addressing Vacations shall be as addressed in
Article 9 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is subject to the
approval of the Board of Public Safety.
Section XI. Sick Leave Buy-Back Program.
The Common Council hereby reaffirms the Sick Leave Buy-Back
Program addressed in Article 21 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, with
the provisions of paragraphs B and C of that Article being amended to address
employees with five (5) or more years of service and employees with less than
five (5) years of service respectively, for purposes of calculation of sick days.
All other policies addressing Sick Leave and Sick-Leave Buy-Back shall be as
addressed in said Article which is subject to the approval of the Board of
Public Safety.
Section XII. Retirement Sick-Day Buy Back Program.
The Common Council hereby sets the rate for a full bank as addressed
in Article 22 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 22, entitled
"Retirement and Sick-Day Buy-Back" be equal to $4,026.00. It is further
established that the rate of reimbursement in said Article be one-half (1/2) of
the hourly rate of base pay for the 1993 Engineer rank. All other policies
addressing Retirement and Sick-Day Buy-Back shall be as addressed in said
Article, which is subject to the approval of the Board of Public Safety.
Section XIII. Private Ambulance Service Program.
(a) The Common Council hereby determines that each qualifying
participant of the Private Ambulance Service addressed in Article 23 of the
Collective Bargaining Agreement be paid seventy-five dollars ($75.00)
additional pay for shift, payable in the next regular paycheck, or as soon
thereafter as possible.
(b) A Sworn Member shall receive an additional ten dollars ($10.00 per
hour for all time the unit is activated payable in increments of one-quarter
(1/4) hours. As an alternative to the $10.00 per hour payment qualifying
employees may have the option of receiving for hours worked on the
activated unit the same number of hours of flex time in the City's flexible
Firefighter Annual Pay Ordinance
Page 11
(c) For all time after 7:00 a.m. until the evening shift Sworn Member
returns from a run, the Sworn Member shall receive payment in cash at the
rate of time and one-half consistent with applicable provisions of the Fair
Labor Standards Act.
(d) All other policies addressing the Private Ambulance Service shall
be as addressed in Article 23 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which
are subject to the approval of the Board of Public Safety.
Section XIV. Drug/Alcohol Testing Policy.
The terms of the drug and alcohol testing policy addressing post-
accident, on-the-job injury, behavior, pre-employment and random
drug/alcohol testing policies tentatively agreed to by the respective
Negotiating Teams shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Public
Safety for all officers, sworn members, and probationary firefighters of the
South Bend Fire Department.
Section XV. Proposed Budgeted Items.
The Common Council hereby commits to budget appropriate amounts
to cover physicals to meet applicable OSHA requirements, and amounts for
the purchase of City property for fire stations whose personnel meet the
governing standards for spring housecleaning.
Section XVI. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect
from and after its passage by the Common Council and approval by the
Mayor.
ember of dCommon Council
josr"ber of the Common Council
III/IIIIIIIIIII
I'''`'pU TH
,a' S 4,4,-........ •
��,.: \\''''„1,;,� City of South Bend
,,,A, � iii
',, i Common Council
_ « o'
11 County-City Building•South Bend,Indiana 46601
1865 ,'''��
IIIIr
(219)235-9321
Fax(219)235-9173
Stephen Luecke
President
Eugene Ladewski July 29. 1993
Vice-President
Thomas Zakrzewskl Members of the Common Council
Chairperson,Committegth Floor County-City Building
of the Whole South Bend, Indiana 46601
RE: Substitute Bill No. 59-93
Stephen Luecke Three-Year Salary and Wage Benefit Ordinance for the Fire Department
First District
Cleo Washington Dear Council Members:
Second District
The attachment proposed Ordinance sets forth the provisions of the tentative
Roland Kelly agreement reached between the Wage Committee representing the Firefighters Local
Third District Union No. 362 and the City Negotiating Team.
Ann Puzzello The proposed Ordinance may be briefly summarized as follows:
Fourth District
Linas Slavinskas 1. Salary: It sets forth a three-year wage package with no increase in wages
Fifth District in 1994, a 3% wage increase in base salaries in 1995, and a 5% wage increase in
base salaries in 1996. If the Council would pass a hydrant user fee, the wages
Thomas Zakrzewski would be amended to reflect a 2% increase in 1995 and/or 1996 but would not be
Sixth District attributable to the base for pension purposes.
Sean Coleman 2. Rank Elimination: The rank of Specialist is recommended to the Board of
At Large Public Safety to be eliminated with an 8-hour incentive pay proposed instead for
Loretta Duda qualifying Captains who perform such duties as arson investigation, inspections,
At Large vehicle and station maintenance, or who act as the hazmat coordinator, etc. The
proposed 8-hour incentive pay has been calculated to fully compensate the current
Eugene Ladewski Specialists for their proposed change in rank.
At Large
3. Recall Procedures: Recall procedures would be changed from the
current rig list procedure to a Master List, with specific provisions for primary and
secondary recall being established.
Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand
Council Attorney 4. Increases in Specialty Pays & Clothing Allowance: Speciality pays
would be set by specific dollar amounts instead of a percentage of the Engineer
rank. New speciality pays would be created in 1995 for Advanced Emergency
Medical Technicians,First Responders, and Paramedics with three years or more of
service. Other current speciality pays and the clothing allowance would be adjusted
upward in 1995 and 1996.
Firefighter Salary Cover Letter
Page 2
5. Holiday Pay for Holidays. Worked Only: Current Holiday pay
procedures whereby a firefighter is paid holiday pay whether he works a holiday or
not would be eliminated. Holiday pay would only be paid if the designated holiday
is worked with the firefighter receiving either 120%of his regular hourly rate times
the hours actually worked or 80% of his regular hourly rate times the hours actually
worked plus 10 hours of flex time added to his account.
6. Elimination of Accumulated Time: Current accumulated time procedures
would be eliminated. An accumulated time account would be established with all
time as of 12-31-93 being frozen. A maximum of 48 hours could be rolled into a
firefighter's flex time account, with the remaining hours paid out in cash in 1994 at
the pay rate equivalent to the rank held on 12-31-93 if so held for as least 12
continuous months. The Flexible Time Account would be established with
maximum hours of 72 for 24-hour personnel and 40 for 8-hour personnel.
7. Family Leave Policy Established: Family or Medical Leaves of Absence
procedures would be created consistent with the federal law of 12 weeks of such
leave being granted per calendar year. Firefighters would be required to use all
banked sick days, all current sick days, and all vacation days first, with the
remaining period of the 12 weeks being unpaid leave. The City would continue to
pay its share of major medical insurance premiums during such a leave and
retirement benefits would continue to accrue during such leave.
8. Insurance: Insurance coverage would be modified to reflect the
provisions in effect for the rest of the City employees currently, except that single
coverage premiums would remain at$10.00 per month and that dependent coverage
would be $50.00 per month in 1994 and 1995 and would be $55.00 in 1996. The
most significant change and recommendation is the premium rate for pensioners,
widows and dependents,with those rates being frozen for 1994-1996 at$78.00 per
month for single coverage and$227.00 per month for dependent coverage.
9. Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy: The Fire Department's Drug and
Alcohol Testing Policy will be similar to the one currently in place for the Police
Department. It will include five (5) basic types of testing, namely: post-accident,
on-the-job injury, behavior,pre-employment and random.
10. Other Major Items:
(a) Vacations: Limited adjustments are recommended in the second tier of
the vacation schedule which would affect those firefighters hired after 12-31-86.
(b) Sick Leave Buy-Back: The current Sick Leave Buy-Back Program
would remain in effect with limited modification for those firefighters in the second
tier who were hired after 12-31-86.
(c) Retirement Sick-Day Back Program: The current Retirement Sick-Day
Buy Back Program would remain in effect with a full bank being increased by
$293.00 per year for a total of$4,026. The rate of reimbursement would be one-
half of the hourly rate of base pay for the 1993 Engineer rank instead of the 1991
Engineer rank effective 1-1-94.
Firefighter Salary Cover Letter
Page 3
(d) Private Ambulance Service Program: The current rate of$75.00 would
be maintained for 1994-1996 as additional pay for those firefighters participating in
the program, with policy changes being addressed in the Collective Bargaining
Agreement.
(e) Proposed Budget Amounts for Physicals and Items for the Individual
Fire Stations: Monies will be proposed in the 1994 budget to meet OSHA
requirements and also to allow each fire station whose personnel meet the spring
housecleaning requirements to recommend personnel property purchases
consistent with departmental guidelines.
The City Negotiating Team recommends passage of the proposed Ordinance in the
event that its terms are ratified by Local No. 362. In the event that the package is
not ratified,the City Negotiating Team recommends the following amendments:
(a) That paragraph (d) of Section II addressing the "Conditional Hydrant
User Fee and Effect"be struck from the Ordinance; and
(b) That the salaries for 1996 for the Sworn Members of the Fire
Department be recalculated to reflect 4% increases over 1995 base salary amounts
instead of 5%increases.
It should be further noted that Mayor Kernan's recommendations for Officers in
1994, 1995, and 1996 will be presented to you during the City Negotiating Team's
presentation of the proposed Ordinance at the formal Special Council Meeting.
The City Negotiating Team believes that the overall package recommended to both
the Common Council and later to the Board of Public Safety is fair and in the best
interest of all parties concerned,as well as the City of South Bend.
We recommend your favorable consideration of this proposed Ordinance. Thank
you.
Sincer ly,
Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand
Spokesperson
City Negotiating Team
CC: Mayor Joseph E. Kernan
Luther Taylor,Fire Chief
City Negotiating Team
Wage Negotiating Team for Local Union No. 362