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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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AGE
5
March 1, 2012
Fire union exceeds township budget cuts
C
ANTON
- P
LYMOUTH
The Plymouth Township fire-
fighters union has proposed
$23,015 more in cuts and conces-
sions to the 2012 department budg-
et than the operating budget pro-
posed by the township board of
trustees.
According the Daniel Atkins,
president of Plymouth Township
Firefighters Local 1476, the union
has accepted or proposed $731,500
in cuts to the annual funding of the
department, $23,015 more than the
budget cuts requested in the budg-
et the township has proposed to
operate the department.
Atkins said that he has been
working with Township Treasurer
Ron Edwards since January to
attempt to settle a contract to avoid
arbitration. Atkins said in a written
statement that settlement talks are
always terminated by the township
for reasons unknown tohim.
He said this latest offer from the
union addresses all the issues that
the board of trustees has
expressed, including wages, health
care cost sharing for current
employees and retirees, pension
changes and several other cuts that
will reduce legacy costs and over-
time.
Atkins has requested in a letter
to the board that each trustee
review the list of concessions and
cuts in the latest union offer in an
attempt, he said, to avoid layoffs
and continue to deliver service to
the community. Atkins added that
“nobody will winwith a ruling from
the arbitrator” and acknowledged
that the arbitration process has
already begun.
“I know if personal issues are
put aside, we can settle this,” he
told the boardmembers.
In the cuts and concessions he
listed in the letter, Adkins said the
union had agreed to decrease in
wages of 7 percent across the
board, a 20 percent co-payment of
insurance premiums, three fewer
firefighters on health insurance
paid by the township, changes to
the retiree health care and conces-
sions in the retirement plans which
would eliminate longevity for new
hires and reduce the number of
paid holidays to 12.5. He said the
union had also offered to changes
in the sick leave and a reduction in
paidpersonal time.
Other concessions included a
change in the disability payments
requiring the employee to be off
work for two or more weeks before
reaching eligibility and no mini-
mumstaffing requirements.
Those concessions would leave
the 2012 union proposed budget for
the fire department in Plymouth
Township at $3,002,218. The town-
ship has proposed a total budget
for the department of $3,025,233.
No injuries in 2 Canton fires
Canton firefighters responded to two
alarms last week, one accidental and the other
of a suspicious nature.
Last Monday, at about 10:40 p.m., the
Canton Public Safety Dispatch Center
received a call from an alarm company for a
burglar/motion alarm coming from Eastern
Market located in the 39000 block of Joy Road.
Police units responded and found smoke com-
ing frominside the building.
The fire department was notified and when
firefighters made entry into the single story
commercial structure they encountered heavy
smoke and a small fire that was quickly
brought under control, according to official
reports of the incident.
Damage fromthe firewasminimal and con-
fined to the back corner area of the building.
Major smoke damage occurred throughout the
structure and to the products in the store,
reports indicated.
No one was in the business at the time of
the fire, andno injuries occurred.
The Canton Fire Investigation Unit was on
scene and determined the fire to be accidental
innature.
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, at approximately 8:20
p.m., the CantonPublic SafetyDispatchCenter
received a call reporting fire coming from
under an apartment door located in the 8500
block of Honeycomb Circle in the Crossings at
Canton apartment complex off JoyRoad.
Upon entry into the apartment building,
firefighters found smoke-filled hallways and a
smoldering fire in front of an occupied apart-
ment unit door.
Firefighters extinguished the smoldering
fire with a water extinguisher and used posi-
tive pressure ventilation to remove smoke
from the building. Fire damage was minor,
confined to the apartment door and floor in
front of the door, according to reports. One
occupant was inside the apartment at the time
of the fire, but no injurieswere reported.
The Canton Fire Investigation Unit was on
scene and determined the fire was deliberate-
ly set. The investigation remains ongoing at
this time.
financial deficit faced by the department
with the withdrawal of the City of
Plymouth from the joint operating agree-
ment with the township for fire services.
The city now has an intergovernmental
agreement with Northville to provide fire
protection services.
That withdrawal caused a reduction in
the fire department operating budget of
about $900,000, according to the SAFER
application, or about 1/3 of the operating
capitol.
The grant application details the 33
percent decrease in manpower the
department has experienced and the
increased dependence on mutual aid
from neighboring communities and the
significant increases in response times.
Staffing reductions have decreased
manpower at the busiest station from a
four-man station 70 percent of the time to
a two-man station 50 percent of the time.
“The decreased in manpower has
increased the time it takes to adequately
attack a structure fire as we must wait for
a second arriving crew from another sta-
tion,” the application states.
In his letter of support for the grant,
McCotter reiterated the current violations
of National Fire Protection Agency and
federal occupational standards.
Reaume did not say whether, if suc-
cessful, this grant would be accepted by
the township administration which is cur-
rently in arbitration with the firefighters'
union.
Mangan said that it would be foolish of
the township to turn down the funding, if
the grant was successful as all the costs
are paid through the funding awarded.
“There are no strings attached,”
Mangan said. “But they would have to
maintain the level of staffing. If there is no
willingness to maintain the level of
staffing, when it is paid by a federal grant,
it seems nonsensical.
“The choice is theirs,”Mangan said.
Funds
FROM PAGE 1
I know if personal issues are put aside,
we can settle this.
”