Editor’s Note: The following article was prepared by Terry Dettmar of the IAFF Local 1826 (A Shift) and John R. Wayne, IAFF Local 1826 (B Shift) of local firefighters and presented to members of the Lehigh Acres Fire and Rescue District Board of Commissioners on Jan. 20. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Lehigh Acres’ Category
Lehigh Acres Firefighter Union Concessions
February 2, 2011Lehigh Acres Fire District reinstated funding to staff members and chief
July 27, 2010The Lehigh Acres Fire Board met July 21 and ratified contracts with the two unions representing firefighters and administration staff. The meeting, which lasted no more than an hour, also had commissioners voting to officially set the millage rate to 3.0 for purpose of trim notices that will soon be going out from the county to landowners.
300 apply for 34 jobs at Lehigh Fire Dept
June 24, 2010More than 300 people have signed up for the 34 jobs to be filled at the Lehigh Acres Fire Dept. Chief Don Adams says tests began this past Monday with hiring planned within the next month.,
The effort is to replace 34 jobs that were lost last August when Adams laid off 36 firefighters because of the lack of income to the department. Since then, the department applied for a SAFER grant sponsored and administered by FEMA and Lehigh was one of the fire departments in the U.S. to get nearly a $9 million grant.
Pay, benefits blamed for Lehigh Acres fire dept woes
June 2, 2010Letter To the Editor from Kevin Shea, Lehigh Acres
Some 82 percent of the budget is expended for pay and benefits. As of September 30, 2000 58 employees were paid approximately $2.6 million for an average cost per employee of $45,000 per year.
By April 2010 personnel costs for pay and benefits have increased to $8.8 million for 85 employees. The average cost per employee now exceeds $100,000 per year. Some 77 percent now receive annual compensation in excess of $100,000 per year.
Only five employees receive yearly compensation under $75,000. Given the current pay structure in the not-too-distant future more than 90 percent of the department will receive annual compensation in excess of $100,000 per year.
Property Tax Appraisals Drop Again
June 2, 2010http://www.news-press.net/data/dataWorkBench/index.php?dataset=815&mode=search
The county, its cities and fire districts will have to raise tax rates or cut millions from next year’s budgets after another drop in property values.
New assessments from the county’s property appraiser released Tuesday show the taxable value of county property dropping to $54.9 billion in 2009 — down 15 percent from the year before and almost 40 percent from four years ago during the height of real estate market. The numbers will be used to calculate local governments’ 2010-11 budgets.
Lehigh Acres Fire District awarded $8,971,851 FEMA SAFER grant
May 29, 2010http://www.firegrantsupport.com/content/html/safer/Awards09.aspx
http://lehighacrescitizen.com/pdf/news/509350_1.pdf
The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District has received a notification of the SAFER Grant in the amount of $8,971,851. This award will allow the fire district to recall 34 firefighters that were laid off in August 2009, and retain 12 more positions that were noticed of lay-off. Within 90 days written confirmation from FEMA, the District will begin the recall process. The District will also be able to re-open Station 105 (636 Thomas Sherwin Ave S), which has been open part-time since April 2010.
Lehigh Acres Fire Department bankruptcy?
April 20, 2010Current salaries and benefits at Lehigh Acres Fire District
http://www.lehighacrescitizen.com/pdf/news/508781_1.pdf
http://www.lehighacrescitizen.com/page/content.detail/id/508781.html
April-20 Guest Opinion: Kevin Shea is a resident of Lehigh Acres.
Lehigh Acres Fire District and Unions declare impasse
April 7, 2010The Lehigh Acres Fire District has declared impasse with both IAFF 1826 District 6 and District 19 with respect to collective bargaining negotiations for the current fiscal year, said John Hament, a labor attorney today, Tuesday, April 6. District 19 (supervisory unit) negotiations is limited to wages and insurance, the only two reopeners permitted by the contract in this third and final year of the collective bargaining agreement, he said. District 6 (rank and file firefighter unit) negotiations is for a new successor contract to replace the former three year contract. All articles related to District 6 negotiations were open for bargaining.
