Fire Benefits Put Discussion of City Raises On Hold

Fire pension negotiations continue to haunt commissioners as they hash out raises for city employees in next year’s budget.

The issue of had to be tabled because of complications with the  during a Monday budget workshop. The ordinance has irked firefighters and prolonged overdue credit to the city for months.

The ordinance allowed the city to temporarily stop firefighter benefits so that a more accurate long-term cost could be recalculated, as the true cost of the benefits had been underestimated. The state agreed to credit the city for what it had been paying out of pocket from city taxes since 1999.

The city had budgeted for an incoming $752,000 from the state, which it planned to use to help fund a pay increase for city staffers.

Firefighters, however, are questioning the legality of the ordinance. Firefighters claim that a larger percentage of the credit should go back to their share plan instead of city funds.

“Firefighters were hood-winked into believing that the city's actuarial study showed the half the state money would go to fund the share plan with the other half going to the city to off-set their costs,” Jim Brantley, lawyer for the Dunedin Firefighters Association, wrote in a letter to the Dunedin Patch editor.

Nancy Duggan, director of human resources, said Monday that the ordinance is being scrutinized by the state for the firefighter’s legal concerns. She doesn’t expect the state to make a decision for a month, but based on comparable ordinances in other cities, she thinks the state will come down on the side of the city.

This halted a planned discussion about raises for city staff. City Manager Rob DiSpirito strongly endorsed a 3 percent wage increase. It would be the first raise in two years for city employees. The average city employee makes $43,670 and has 12 years of service, Duggan reported in a memo to DiSpirito.

The city was ready to discuss in what form — a one-time bonus, raise, or some combination of the two — the pay increase would come. But commissioners were uncomfortable proceeding with talks until they knew which funds to draw from for the pay increase.

“I don’t want employees to walk away wondering, ‘Are we going to get anything?’ ” Mayor Dave Eggers said. “That’s not in question. It’s just how [it’s going to come to them]."