Why Do Firefighters Receive an8.5% Bonus for Meeting Basic Standards Required for Hiring?
$5.4 Million in “Specialty Pays” For Basic Qualifications Call Into Question Recent Threats of “Fire Cuts”
SAN DIEGO – City Councilmember Carl DeMaio today revealed a questionable and costly practice of paying City firefighters an 8.5% bonus each year for simply meeting the requirements of basic employment with the City’s fire department.
The current labor contract with the City’s fire union states: “effective June 30, 2005 the EMT premium will be increased to 8.5% [of base pay].” (Page 62-63 of hard copy, Page 58 of electronic version.)
One would think that such a certification was unique or above the base requirements of employment as a City firefighter – and therefore worthy of bonus pay. Quite the contrary: City firefighters are already required to hold and maintain their EMT Certification as a basic requirement of their job with the Fire Department.
DeMaio’s office verified that EMT certification is required of all Fire Recruits wishing to become firefighters with the City. The City’s website also notes the basic requirement for both recruits and Firefighters (see attached screenshots).
“City leaders pushing tax increases claim that all the fat has been cut from the budget, but this automatic bonus pay calls that claim into question,” commented DeMaio. “By reforming this practice, we can save millions of dollars each year to avoid cuts in public safety services.”
Councilmember DeMaio also notes: “These are facts directly from the city’s budget and confirmed both by the city’s personnel and financial management departments. Like everything else in the city’s budget, reforming these bonuses should be considered as one of our options for balancing the budget without impacting public safety.”
About this Series: Some city politicians say there is no waste left to cut in the budget. Councilmember DeMaio is identifying wasteful and unnecessary spending in the City’s budget to balance the budget while preserving core city services like police and fire – and without tax increases.