by Mary Wilson, mwilson@jcadvocate.com
A war of words continues with Grandview elected officials
and fire union leaders, with differing messages regarding pay and contract
terms.
Even though it was a packed house at the Grandview Board of
Aldermen meeting last week, the crowd wasn’t there to listen to the approval of
ordinances or witness oaths being given to newly-appointed commissioners. Members
of the local fire union, wearing red shirts in solidarity, were there to listen
to supporters during the public comments portion of the meeting.
Tim Dupin, a former Grandview Fire employee in 1996 and
currently the secretary and treasurer for the International Association of
Firefighters Local 42 union, addressed the Mayor and Board of Aldermen as a representative
of those who work for the Grandview Fire Department.
“Your firefighters are in a unique situation. They don’t
have enough people to do the job,” said Dupin. “I left here, first and
foremost, for my safety. You have the same amount of firefighters now that you
had in 1996.”
He added that wages and benefits of the firemen, while not
where they should be, are secondary to the safety concerns of Local 42.
According to Dupin, the Grandview Fire Department calls for mutual aid of
surrounding departments daily.
“We’re not out here asking you to supply enough firefighters
to fight fires in the industrial complexes you have,” said Dupin. “We’re not
asking you to have enough to fight an apartment building here. We’re asking you
to get enough firefighters to fight a house fire.”
Grandview Mayor Leonard Jones stated that 46 percent of the
upcoming Capital Improvement Sales Tax is to ensure that both police and fire
personnel have the needed equipment to safely fulfill their respective
responsibilities in the future. He added that the Board of Aldermen has also
discussed other tax issues, including the public safety sales tax and the local
use tax, and they plan to consider both of those in the coming months or
year.
“During public comment at last week’s regular session, a
number of people gave the impression that the police and fire departments were
not trained and equipped to safely perform their duties,” said Jones. “This is
not true now nor has it been true in the past. The Grandview residents that
attended the Citizens Academy were shocked to hear such misleading and
unverified comments last Tuesday.”
Dupin added that the National Fire Protection Agency
standards are to have 15 firefighters to safely fight a fire, while Grandview
has only 10-12 on duty at any given time.
“Do your job. Put it on the ballot,” said Dupin. “You want
to shut me up and stop the social media posts? Do your job and stop kicking the
can down the road. Support your men and women. Put their safety first. Put the
safety of your citizens first and do your job of protecting Grandview. You’re
not doing it right now.”
According to Jones, salaries are negotiated and evaluated
with Local 42 on a regular basis, including overtime, sick leave, vacation and
career development.
“We also realize that 85 percent of Fire Department calls
are for EMS services, and they typically have about 20 structural fires a
year,” Jones added. “Currently, we have significant reinforcements from Kansas
City under our new EMD dispatching agreement.”
Kristina D’Agostino from Independence, whose husband has
worked as a Grandview firefighter for the past 12 years, also addressed the
elected officials during public comments. She claimed that the Grandview Fire
Department is understaffed and underpaid. She also stated that some of the
firemen in the department work upwards of 96 hour shifts due to lack of
manpower.
“I am very concerned that nobody takes the time to address
the safety of the fire department,” said D’Agostino. “These guys are exhausted.
They need resources. They need safety. They need help.”
Grandview resident and president of the Belvidere
Neighborhood Watch Pam Miller spoke of the vital role that the firefighters and
police have in the community. She requested that the aldermen put on a future
ballot to let Grandview voters decide on a one-percent tax increase for public
safety.
“We all have a voice,” said Miller. “We have to make sure
that we have public safety. We need more police. Grandview is a great place; we
just need to invest more.”
Michael and JoLynn Lane, who are Grandview business owners,
also urged the Grandview Board of Aldermen to consider an upcoming ballot issue
to increase funding for public safety training and personnel.
“We have resources, they’re just not being allocated to the
right spot,” said Michael Lane. “We need personnel. We need public safety. We
need our fire department. Let the people speak.”
The City of Grandview is currently negotiating a new
three-year agreement with Local 42 and plans to allow the negotiations to
proceed to its conclusion this fall.
In today's world, our first responders are putting their lives on the line more than ever. They should be the City's #1 priority. They should be equipped with the staffing, training, and wages as they are putting their lives on the line each call they receive. It is very sad in today's society police are getting ambushed just sitting in their cars at times, firemen are getting shot as they are first on the scenes, it may not have happened in Grandview but it's happening all around us. I am pushing as a voice to get these first responders what they need to mentally be successful having all the appropriate tools needed and wages to give themselves and family a good life. Training is a must, people get lost through the cracks then loose there life due to someone not knowing how to deal with a certain situation. I would think that all of these concerns should be a priority, not a fight for our first responders. City officials quit making excuses, get your budgets rearranged to allow thsee departments to be adequately funded! Your citizens lives are also on the line!
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Jo Lynn Lane