The Morning Call Archives

Copyright © 2010 The Morning Call

ID: 4755710
Publication Date: October 23, 2010
Day: Saturday
Page: A6
Edition: FIRST
Section:
Type:
Dateline:
Column:
Length: long

Byline: Christopher Baxter OF THE MORNING CALL

Headline: Easton gets clocked by OT ** Some firefighters bolstered

their pay by nearly 50 percent, records show.

The firefighter overtime that Easton officials blame for draining city
coffers has cost $2 million during the past three years and bolstered some
annual paychecks by nearly 50 percent, city records show.

Five city firefighters have made more than $90,000 in overtime since
2007, according to a Morning Call analysis of payroll records obtained
under the state Right-to-Know Law. John Hartman, an 11-year veteran of
the fire department, earned $106,350, the most of anyone.

Between 2007 and the end of 2009, Hartman made an average annual
$54,000 in regular earnings and $26,000 in overtime, the analysis shows.
So far this year, he's made $28,604 in overtime.

George Leidy made the most overtime in one year, pocketing $31,690 in
2008 in addition to $56,014 in regular earnings.

Leidy's $87,704 total that year topped both Mayor Sal Panto Jr., at
$74,142, and fire Chief John Bast, at $79,870. Several of the top
overtime-users matched or surpassed Panto and Bast in annual earnings
during the three-year period.

Overtime payouts this year are expected to break the record set in 2007,
when taxpayers shelled out $523,934, causing city officials to wage a
public relations war against the firefighters union, including claims that
some firefighters may be abusing sick time.

"Right now the two things really high in the city are fire overtime and the
cost of outside legal fees for union grievances and union labor," Panto
said Friday. "If they want to help us, they should be looking in their own
department, telling us how to be more effective."

Union head Terrance Hand countered by saying the top overtime earners
are some of the department's hardest-working employees and should be
commended for their commitment.

"A lot of guys take [overtime] a lot and they are away from their homes a
lot," Hand said. "Some guys work 48 hours straight. Make no mistake
about it, when they take the overtime they're taking away from their own
personal time."

When asked about the burden the overtime places on the city budget,
Hand blamed the city for not hiring enough firefighters.

Attempts to reach Hartman and Leidy, among others, were made through
Hand, who said he would forward requests for interviews and the results
of the analysis. Repeated attempts to reach Bast were unsuccessful.

Panto said that while firefighters are due their fair pay for the amount of
time they work, the department's overtime is the single largest concern
dragging down city finances. The city pays about $200 per resident for
fire protection, higher than Allentown, at $170, and Bethlehem, at $111.

Through Monday, the firefighters had nearly depleted their allotted

$480,000 in overtime. The city expects the department to draw down
$530,000 in overtime from taxpayers by the end of the year, more than the
Planning Department's entire 2010 budget.

Still, firefighter overtime represents just 2 percent of Easton's overall

budget.

The firefighters' contract, set by an arbitrator in April after a heated two-

year battle between the city and Easton's chapter of the International
Association of Fire Fighters, requires shifts of at least 10 firefighters --
plus their officers -- to cover the city of more than 26,000 people.

Called "minimum manning," the requirement was a sticking point in

negotiations and continues to create conflict. Panto has said that manning,
or staffing, should be a management decision and not dictated by the
employees. The union calls it "safe staffing."

"Anything less than 10 people and we really put everybody at risk," Hand
said.

The city would need 42 firefighters for a full complement of three shifts
of 14. In terms of overtime, a full complement is important because the
department is allowed to schedule up to four vacation days, personal days
or otherwise excused days per shift.

If a shift begins with fewer than 14 men, as has been the case for the past
several years, the department can still schedule up to four men to be off,
which makes overtime often automatic to reach the minimum of 10. Add
to that any sick days, and sometimes five or six men can be on overtime
on one shift.

"Unfortunately, I think the amount of vacation and sick days leaves us a

lot of times under the minimum manning," Panto said. He and City
Administrator Glenn Steckman have both said they believe a few
firefighters may be abusing sick time.

But they have offered the public no concrete evidence to back up their
claim, and redacted firefighter names from payroll information about sick
time requested by The Morning Call. Challenged by the newspaper, the
city now says it will provide the information without redaction.

Hand previously told The Morning Call there are no sick-time abuses in
the fire department. When asked this week whether the department has
any abuse, he said "we probably do," but said the charge should not be
leveled unless someone has proof.

The city will hire two firefighters next year to reach a full complement of
42 firefighters and has reduced budgeted overtime next year to $335,000.
The city will have to consider future cuts if it misses that target.

christopher.baxter@mcall.com

610-778-2283