Hoffman Estates goes public with fire union proposals

Hoffman Estates officials claim the fire department's union is using scare tactics to rile residents and have gone public with their labor proposals.

Contract talks started in June, with the village wanting the fire department union to trim $400,000 from its budget or face six layoffs, as the village struggles with the economy.

A mediator was brought in, but on Wednesday talks broke off.

Firefighters want 4 percent salary increases starting on Jan. 1, while the village wants to give them the raises starting on Dec. 31, 2010.

The raises are what police officers would receive under their contract signed last year.

The village wants to renegotiate that deal and has threatened four police layoffs.

"We're still hopeful that we could come to an agreement, that the police and fire will do what the public works union did and step up and be part of the solution to this tough time," Mayor William McLeod said.

Fire union head Dean Slater agreed, saying the sides aren't "terribly far away."

But the sides differ enough that the union has taken out an ad in the Daily Herald that will run today, Sunday and Monday outlining its concerns. The ad urges resident to call village hall.

Meanwhile, the village posted a letter on Friday on hoffmanestates.com attempting to refute some of the union's claims after fielding dozens of phone calls over the last couple of days stemming from a flier circulated by the fire union.

The village board on Monday could vote on the 2010 budget, which includes the layoffs. There's still a chance the sides could negotiate a deal after the board adopts the budget and before any layoffs become official.

Front and center is how the loss of an ambulance from the village's busiest station would affect emergency service. Layoffs would lead to times, such as sick days, when one of the department's four ambulances would be taken out of service. That ambulance would come from station No. 22 on Moon Lake Boulevard near St. Alexius Medical Center.

Village officials said response times won't be affected, while the union said safety is at risk.

Village Manager James Norris said the ambulance in question has only been around since September 2007, when the economy was stronger. Fire Chief Robert Gorvett said the department has nine pieces of equipment that all have paramedic equipment.

"What they're not telling is they're still going to respond in the squad and the fire truck," Norris said.

However, Gorvett did concede "more is better" when it comes to personnel.

The village's offer posted online cites raises in 2010, and Slater said the union would accept it if the raises were on Jan. 1 instead of Dec. 31.

Norris said that would be unfair to other village employees, including employees of the public works department, who won't get raises in 2010.

"Our whole point is that we need the money in 2010," Norris said. But having the raises right at the end of the year would still give firefighters a lift in their pension benefits, he said.

McLeod's comment about stepping up riled Slater, who said the village had already left five firefighter posts vacant in addition to the six threatened layoffs. The fire department union did not complain when the village decided to leave the positions unfilled, he said.

"They're the ones who need to step up because they've already made the cuts once," Slater said.

The sides could negotiate through the weekend if needed, but if not, the same mediator who has overseen past talks would serve as the arbitrator. Arbitration dates could be scheduled for January.