Dear Editor,
I found it interesting that the article on fire department
overtime failed to address the major issue here, hiring sufficient
personnel to fill the shifts.
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Dear Editor,
Kudos to Serdar Tumgoren And the Dispatch for their persistence
in exposing the firefighter’s OT and payroll figures.
Dear Editor,
I found it interesting that the article on fire department overtime failed to address the major issue here, hiring sufficient personnel to fill the shifts. Buried deep in the article is City Administrator Jay Baksa’s statement that it is cheaper to pay overtime than hire additional personnel.
Instead you choose three times to print the salaries in an apparent effort to inflame the position that firefighters are making over $100k. You also don’t mention that these firefighters are giving up their days off to fill these positions that the city agreed to contractually. A union contract lives for two bodies, the city and the union. Both sides agreed to it. The fire personnel are holding up their end.
The city just keeps inviting more people and businesses into this community without recognizing a need to improve the infrastructure.
Your article and position reminds me of the late 80’s when the San Jose Mercury News loved to print the top money (overtime) earners of the sheriff’s office, and avoid the real issue, staffing.
As for the retirement issue, they deserve everything asked for. Do we need to drag out the mortality tables and look at the life expectancy of a firefighter? It’s a dangerous job, pay them!
Glen Cooke, Hollister (Gilroy business owner)
Dear Editor,
Kudos to Serdar Tumgoren And the Dispatch for their persistence in exposing the firefighter’s OT and payroll figures. In view of the facts, it is no wonder that it took two months of “wrangling”to get the figures for what should have been public information.
Probably more disturbing than the current $5.6 million budget for 36 employees ($155,555 annually per employee) is the proposed retirement benefit of 90 percent of pay at age 50. With nearly 30 years of life expectancy remaining, the financial impact of this proposal could be disastrous. I would like to see the Dispatch do the math on this one!
Don’t misunderstand me. As a small business owner in Gilroy I have received service from the firefighters on more than one occasion. Their response and professionalism was outstanding. We should not, however, confuse the need for their very necessary service with fiscal responsibility.
Finally, I wonder what impact the fire fighter’s compensation package has on the moral of other city employees?
Dan Mello, Gilroy
