“I’m against reducing public safety,” Spring said in an interview. “I don’t think that is a reasonable way to reduce obligations. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the community to reduce the number of police or fire personnel. Public safety is, to me, the most important thing for our community.”
John Spring QHW 12.15.09
Guess the "attempted" firing of the three firefighters on 10.31.07 and the $400,000 legal bills don't count as public safety.
55 comments:
Alderman Brink thinks that they should reduce police and firemen due to a rise in pensions. Maybe they should not have given $30,000 buyout to get guys to retire early. Does he not realize that the people working right now put into the pension and the problem is the retired drawing off their pensions that the city just increased because of early retirements.
Alderman Brink get a clue. Maybe he can let the life savers alone and let them do their jobs that we pay them to do and he can go do his job if you call it a job. Repossessing cars. What an honorable way to feed the family. Being a crook and making money off the misery of others that are unable to pay their bills in a difficult economy. What a scumbag. Hope this guy doesn't need police or fire protection at his house.
There is a difference. After the firing of the 3, he would have a chance to dole out 3 more jobs to relatives and friends.
1:36
Yea right, people should be able to take out loans for cars and not pay them back! You idiot. Sounds like sour grapes, what happened, did Brink pop your 1998 Chevy Lumina? You wanna dance, you gotta pay the band, you wanna borrow, you gotta pay the man. Leave the sad sack bad economy crap out of it, you low-rent little dipshit. Turds like you ought to ride the short bus anyway.
In the words of Harry Dean Stanton "We gotta make the mf-ers pay"
They ought to cut at the top of the city government. How about the aldermen and alderwoman have a furlough just like everyone else employed by the city. I don't see any of them giving anything up, just talking cuts. How many admisistrators does the city need along with secretaries and garbage men.
Maybe the city council should have thought about the budget when they passed the hydroelectric plan costing the city tons of money and maybe will see something. How much money could have been in the budget had this project not cost so much.
Right now they should do like every other union that has unsustainable pay and benefits. If you don't cut jobs, you cut pay and benefits for the new hires.Cat,Deere,Mitsubishi and the list goes on. And by the way,no policeman or fireman would ever shirk their duties because of pay or a personal issue with Dan. He has to say it anyway, because all the other guys would be talking about themselves or family. And don't give me that crap about "if we don't pay them this amount they will go elsewhere".Please,they still have time to start a business on the side,and they will.
I hope if they close a fire station they close the one at 12th and Jackson, so Alderman Brink can have a delayed response from another fire station should his house ever catch on fire or have a medical emergency. It is not smart to cut public safety. The fire dept. is already down 5 firefighters due to early retirement and the city just not replacing the others. The police are down just one. How many employees do we need at central services.
To say that voting against a tax increase means you're against public safety is horseshit. Firemen work some ridiculous 2 on 4 off schedule. You don't have to close any of the fire stations. Most of these guys, through no fault of their own, have second jobs or run their own businesses. Make them work more, they obviously have the time. I'd vote no and let the ones who created this mess figure out which family members to can.
8:56:00 PM
I think you're going to find out the ones voting against the raping of the taxpayer are spread out all over town. Don't go committing yourself to which station you'd like to see closed just yet.
Quincy firefighters work 24 hrs on 48 hrs off. Which comes to like 60 hrs a week.
Half of which is spent sleeping.
The typical Firefighter in the City of Quincy works 48 hours per week. This is accomplished by working 24 hours on duty and 48 hours off duty. This schedule works out to be approximately 105 24-hour days per year.
If you make them work more you will be paying overtime because of their contract. They already work approximately 60 hours a week. Most of which is going on runs and training. I think they should vote no also, but don't cut public safety.
Sounds like they need a different contract.
Like a new contract is going to be agreed upon with more hours for the same pay. Will never happen. Get a clue. It never works that way. One side never gets exactly what it wants.
Then some of them need to be let go. Why are firemen unionized in the first place?
Don't know why they are. It states in their contract how many need to be employed.
I don't believe Brink has ever said he specifically wants to cut fire or police, he has just said we need to look at everything. Its Spring and Sparks who have said the only thing left to cut is police and fire. They are trying to make Brink the scapegoat and it looks like some of their minions are too.
2:39
Yeah. It went a little something like this:
Brink: We need to see where we can cut more rather than raise taxes.
Spring/Duesterhaus: Which fire station do you want to close?
I hope they defeat the increase. They'll have to find something to cut. It won't be hard.
And the City Hall Gazette played right along with the story line, didn't they?
City Hall Gazette?
I thought that was the Spring Flyer Daily?
His Honorable Spring was so 'defensive/curt' the night of 'reviewing other suggestions when propsed by Mr. Brink.
Toledo Ohio Mayor helps cuts by doing 'lawn mowing of the city parks' of which I think I recall they have even more than Quincy does! Can't we just see the honorable Mayor of Quincy making a offer such as this to be the good Samaritan!
I am always amazed when I go by an area being worked or a city truck and a few 'chatting' as others do the work. What did the good folks of Q receive as Christmas (no it is not Season in my book) -- as gifts this year? I know some that did signifigant cut backs. Did 'Q'? Pay their own fuel and use the city cars for THAT ONLY! No picking up the laundry on 'city driving time! Be accountable as you surely expect your children to be with you and in your home.
I do not think Mr. Brink is talking 'just' the fire stations! His suggestion was 'reviewing the areas' of where there could be cuts or savings!
I KNOW none of you bashing him have done any 'cuts or adjustments in your homes'! Right on! Perhaps you live on the high end of the 'hog-pork' and would like to contribute to the cause of all the BIG spending over the past few months! Quincy as the state and the NATION is out of control!
Spring cuts the grass but it's with a golf club at Westview.
...on the clock!
...after giving his son in law a raise!
HERE'S HOW IT IS:
The reason most full time fire departments are unionized is because of dead firefighters. Cities all over the country had firefighters working over 90 hours a week and not providing them with proper safety equipment.
Firefighters actually get little sleep throughout the night and what sleep they get is constantly interrupted due to calls.
The reason the pension costs have increased for the city is because the city went years not paying in as they were required to do. The state finally ordered the city to pay what they are required to and to pay the overdue amount. The line you always hear about firefighter's pension costs increasing is misleading.
Quincy firefighters work two 48 hour work weeks and one 72 hour work week on a rotating basis. The 24/48 shift schedule is the most financially cost effective shift for cities. This allows cities to only have three shifts as opposed to four. This is the maximum hours a city can require firefighters to work.
While nepotism is rampant in the city, QFD does not have a large number of "city relatives" employed due to a relatively neutral civil service application process. Many firefighters come from around the state and country.
The QFD has also been understaffed for years. The national standard for engine companies is four personnel. QFD has run engines with two for years. The city has been very lucky not to kill anyone because of this short staffing. There are jobs that need to be done when arriving at a fire that cannot be done by only two people. Chief Henning's plan will allow for three personnel at all stations giving the firefighters to begin firefighting operations immediately as opposed to waiting for the second truck.
Thats right! The city has not kept up with its obligations once again and is trying to mislead people again.
1:30
90 hours? Really? When was that? It takes 1.5 workers to provide the pensions for the retirees. That ratio goes up every year. It is unsustainable. QFD is NOT understaffed, they are under worked.
2:42
QFD used to work 24 hours on/24 hours off. 96 hours one week, 72 hours the next.
Underworked? You haven't a clue what you're talking about.
Why don't we just put it on the ballot the issue of if we taxpayers want to have in place public service worker unions? With the economy the way it is, we would have no shortage of qualified applicants that could do the job for less. The public service worker unions are just perversions of what unions really are, anyway. A good idea gone totally amuck. I say we vote out the unions, we the taxpayers ought to be able to decide whether or not we want to pay unions.
2:49
You keep citing some fictional historic figures of hours worked and claim they are understaffed today. You make little sense. 3:02 is right. Let's vote on it.
3:43
Yes. What's the big deal, why can't the taxpayers decide if they want to dissolve a union or not? We're the one's paying the salaries! Is it etched in stone that there must, must be unions in place fleecing taxpayers? Just give us a chance to vote on whether we want them or not!
Sounds like a great idea! If it's legal let's do it! Should make for an interesting election.
Has it ever been done anywhere before? One wonders, I agree , why not. Vote to get rid of these stinking Taxpayer Supported Entity (TSE) sucking unions. They'll have us worse off than General Motors and school district 172 before too long (flat ass broke). Why should we have to subsidize that crap?
TSE's deserve to be of unions!!
Not sure how you break a public sector union, but you won't see it as long as the current bunch of thieves are running this city. The father of the head of the QFD union is on the city council. It's a viscous circle. City allows unions. Unions work to get those elected that will keep them on the gravy train. Same thing at all levels of government across the country.
Accolades to Dan Brink and Mike Farha for raising questions about the city's expenses. It's about time we got some independent minds on the City Council.
Wish one or more like them were on the School Board to ask how the Board could approve a 15 percent increase for the person under whose watch student scores have declined so miserably.
Which Democrats can vote objectively on cutting jobs in any dept? They will undoubtedly affect many of their own family members. Duesterhaus? Reis? Vahlkamp? Mueller? That's half the city work force right there. Watch all these turds cry about public safety. It's about their family.
Someone call "last call" at the pub!
The streets need cleaned!
I'd like to see a vote to get rid of those pesky fire and police unions too. That way we can fire all the firefighters and police officers and start from scratch with people who will do the same job for less. Then we can wait years for all our new, cheaper, hires to be trained on how to operate fire equipment, contain hazardous materials spills, manage critical incidents, properly investigate arrest and prosecute criminals such as thieves, robbers, meth cooks, burglars, sex offenders, drunk drivers etc... Without getting themselves or the city sued. Be trained and certified as paramedics to respond to life threatening situation. Carry and operate an AED in their squad car to provide a quicker response when your grandfather is having a heart attach. Learn how to safely cut your wife, mother, brother, or teenager out of a car so they can be taken to a hospital where they have a chance of surviving the horrible drunk driving accident they were just in even though they were only on their way to work, school, soccer practice, prom etc... Be available at 2 o'clock in the morning when your world is coming down around you and the only thing you can think to do is pick up your phone and call 911. All while they pay their own share of the taxes (I.E. their own salary) to provide the service they get no apparent appreciation for. We'll see if there is even a city left to work for by the time we get all these new "cheaper" people hired. What isn't in ashes will be overrun by those who would love to have just a moment of time without the police in their way. At least we'll save a few bucks. Oh, and by the way, the Adam's County Jail, Adam's County Sheriff's Dept, and the Illinois State Police are all unionized as well, so don't look for any help from them either. You've got my vote!
9:52
Easy there Fire Marshall Bill. No one said get rid of qualified police and fire, just the unions. Let the market dictate what they are worth. Pay the good ones more and get rid of the ones that aren't doing their jobs.
Firegate is no better example of the negative effects of a public sector union.
Couldn't have said it better than the person did 3 entries ago (Fire Marshall Bill) Well Done!
10;51 nailed it. Tell a union turd their union sucks, and they say you must want your grandfather to die. They make no sense.
Seriously folks,firefighters make good money,and many have a business on the side.48 hrs off,remember? Don't know any firefighter that retired and didn't get another union backed job, or just went full-time at the business on the side. Their pension was described to me by a firefighter FRIEND of mine as SWEET.I agreed,nice if you can get it.They are great guys,and deserve our thanks,BUT they should still understand we can't keep this up and not feel taken advantage of.
Explain why the garage door windows on firehouses were painted? Heard that there were complaints of firemen washing and waxing their personal cars.
Pretty sure the City was skipping pension payments back when the stock market was booming and the funds were flush.Just like the rest of the state funds. Now they want US to pay the piper.
Is this true? If the city was skipping pension payments, all those involved should be fired. Pension contributions, just like employer 401K contributions, must be treated and reported as part of the fire personnels' compensation. They were shortchanging not just the people receiving the pensions but the taxpayers who now must fund the shortfall.
Most of the time city workers are working but nobody notices that, only when they are waiting for work to be completed in a hole or a tree to be cut down do people see them standing around talking. You do not hear of their skill or ingenuity that saves taxpayers money. Yes some of them are lazy patronage leeches that exist only because their union protects them but the union also protects the good workers who could be fired for political reasons otherwise.
9:36
What color is the sky in your world? And you just made a strong argument for ridding the world of public sector unions.
12/20/2009 09:36:00 AM
It's not just the worker grunts raping the taxpayers. It's the utter fornication of middle management and overpaid dept heads across the entire face of city government. Most of them would starve if not for political connections.
9:30
The people choosing to skip contributing to the pension fund were the politicians, not employees. The current liability for the city is $2 million this year. If they had been keeping up with payments the liability would have only been $800K this year. Cutting jobs will ot reduce the liability. The pension costs are determined by the number of retirees not employees.
It will certainly reduce future costs with fewer people retired and on the pension role. Unlike the E.R.I. program offered by the city.
Without union rules and protection, Public SAFETY would be as suseptable to corruption as any buisiness or private enteprise. The fight for power and promotion without merit would cause problems that that are expirienced only in third world countries.
If you understand world history at all you know that, although flawed, our systems of Justice and Public Safety are still the best in the world. Taking unions out of the picture would surely put some money back in our pockets, but at what cost. Second rate police and fire departments are just one of the casts!
I know I don't want to invite corruption and tyrany into our community. Do you. Oh by the way Canada is accepting new citizens every day. Good luck ang God Bless.
Without union rules and protection, Public SAFETY would be as suseptable to corruption as any buisiness or private enteprise. The fight for power and promotion without merit would cause problems that that are expirienced only in....where? Quincy?
Anon. 4:58--Let's see,unions in the police department keep corruption from becoming a part of the department. Right. Perhaps you should stop in Chicago on YOUR way to Canada and see how well they have worked. After you have bribed your way out of the pokey and payed off the appropriate officals, write us about what a great job the unions have done.
Yo 4:58 have you been paying attention to the police and fire dept problems over the last 10 yrs? The majority are good people, but they won't say anything bad about their bros.Remember the fire chief /pimp/pot farmer? He got his pension!No corruption whatsoever!Oh'yeah, no jail time. Hey how bout...just forget it.
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