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Spring Hill Taxpayers Can't Afford Fire Contract

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 7, 2008

Updated: 10/07/2008 10:56 am

Spring Hill Taxpayers

Can't Afford Fire Contract

Re: Spring Hill Fire Rescue board meeting Sept. 30.

Spring Hill Fire Rescue board members are supposed to be concerned with the best interests of the Spring Hill community at large. They were not elected or appointed to be the representatives or advocates for the Spring Hill Fire Rescue employees. That's the job of the firefighters union and the union president. However, at the special public meeting held to vote on a "contract amendment" to the existing three-year contract with the firefighters on Sept. 30, which was forced on this fire board by a few concerned citizens at the previous regular meeting, this was not the case. The fire commissioners, with one exception, clearly came down on the side of the union members.

Prior to the start of the meeting, the chairman of the Spring Hill Fire Rescue board announced that no public comment would be allowed at this meeting. When he was shown a document that stated that public comment could not be banned, he relented and allowed each speaker three minutes to express his/her opinions or questions concerning only the new contract being brought up for vote. The chairman also delayed calling the meeting to order past the scheduled 7 p.m. start time while waiting for the fifth commissioner to appear even though there was a quorum present for the meeting and the audience was seated and waiting by 7 p.m.

After public comments were completed and prior to the vote, it was clear from the comments made by the commissioners (especially the chairman) that the only consideration was for getting the "best possible firefighters for Spring Hill" and that "they deserved" everything they could get from the board.

And they got a lot!

The "contract amendment" in reality was a complete new contract, with new start and end dates that, in effect, gives the firefighters a four-year contract. There is nothing in this new contract that refers to the original contract documents or that states "the remaining provisions of the original contract remain fully in effect" because there are no "remaining provisions!"

This contract includes:

• 3 percent pay raises so that a beginning firefighter/EMT will receive $40,682/year.

• Each employee will receive up to an additional $15,078.72 per year for health insurance to cover the member and his family.

• Annual contract review to "only discuss salary increases and all insurances."

• Suspension for 28 days with pay for testing positive for drugs.

The vote to accept the contract was 4 in favor and 1 dissenting. The taxpayers of Spring Hill can't afford to fund or support Spring Hill Fire Rescue as an independent fire district and as a separate taxing authority. Vote "No" on Nov. 4.

Clayton Lynch

Spring Hill

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