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Frankly, it was a lame cliché. Of all the inaccuracies, inconsistencies and outright attacks on our integrity in the July 26 column from Don Pickard, president of the Martin County Taxpayers Association (“County should say no to ‘give-back’¥”), his use of a certain cliché was somehow the most grating. The column prompted me to do something I haven’t done in 25 years as a firefighter — write the newspaper. Something else unprecedented was our guys giving up money guaranteed in their contracts — to the tune of $1.5 million — to help the county alleviate strains on our department and taxpayers. The taxpayers association’s mission includes working “with public officials and boards toward economy and efficiency in the operation of the government of Martin County.” We’ve done that — reaching into our wallets and extending our hand, which Pickard slapped away. Publicly, no less. That’s a failure of Negotiations 101. If you have problems with our give-back, which Pickard sneeringly puts in quotation marks, call us to discuss. But he offered no such courtesy. Judging from Pickard’s “problems,” he’s suffering from a stunning misunderstanding of the facts: • He writes that the concessions include “hiring additional firefighters.” Not true. The only hirings we want are two non-union positions — a budget manager and an administrative specialist — to ensure better usage of taxpayer dollars in the future. • He states our demand for a “guaranteed 5 percent salary increase.” Not true. Any and all salary increases are strictly performance-based, not guaranteed. • He misrepresents the retirement/family benefit package — failing to mention this is the state’s retirement system for police, firefighters and other high-risk jobs. • He badly misconstrues the medical deductible, which spiked by several hundred dollars last year, impacting every Martin County employee — of which firefighters aren’t even half. The Health Care Insurance Task Force, where I’m a member, unanimously recommended holding the rate steady over another increase. Finally, Pickard echoes the new mantra of County Administrator Duncan Ballantyne that filling staff shortages should alleviate excessive overtime, and consolidation with city of Stuart Fire/EMS could address that. We sure hope so. We never wanted excessive overtime, as it endangers the citizens and ourselves. For years we argued for this remedy — more vocally in the last fiscal year. But Ballantyne ignored us. The economy is tough. Everybody is affected. The majority of county commissioners are trying to turn things around. But the reality is money was mismanaged. Our guys want to help by giving money back — but not to be mismanaged. Getting our members to make this concession obviously required buy-in, and it wasn’t a hard sell. To firefighters, community service isn’t some feel-good slogan. It’s something we live. And it’s something we’re prepared to give our lives for. The terms of our concession, beyond the two previously mentioned hirings, are simple: • $500,000 for two replacement ambulances, which were lost to budget cuts. • $300,000 for discretionary overtime to restart the previously slashed public outreach (i.e. CPR instruction, citizen emergency response training and fire prevention classes, which reach roughly 30,000 kids each year). • $880,000 back into the Fire Rescue Municipal Services Taxing Unit to help lower the millage rate. Still, Pickard says this is “not a good deal” and “not” worth accepting. That brings me back to Pickard’s cliché accusing us of “killing the goose that laid the golden egg.” We’re trying to keep the goose off the chopping block, and — here’s a cliché for you — putting our money where our mouth is. Speaking of clichés, ever heard the one about looking a gift horse in the mouth? Well, examine away, as we’ve been open with the public and our members all along about our intentions and expectations. Can the Martin County Taxpayers Association say the same thing? |
