Comments on: Firefighters-City Approve Contract

By: Tam

Tam — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 12:55:05 +0000

Robert,
Keep wondering. More taxpayers should. I agree that Firefighters are real life heroes in workclothes. They also get a myriad of benefits, with real dollar value attached, the name of which most in the workaday world would not even recognize. Kelly days, Book time, regular duty trades, comp time buy out, etc. Add to that: Orthodontia; great health, dental, vision; medical savings accounts; a top notch retirement plan; a 24 on 48 off schedule and overtime for anything beyond their shift. Most are able to have second full time jobs. It was once estimated that the average firefighter actually works 7 days per month. Not a bad deal and surely one that at least 500 people for each vacancy might find lucrative.

Before I get lambasted by firefighters I want to make it clear that I am not an advocate for taking away. I understand that many of these benefits are standard to the occupation and well deserved by men and women who work very hard often sacrificing their own safety for that of others.

I do however think that taxpayers have the right to know the whole story. One that doesn’t make it to press very often.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 08:23:22 +0000

When I see 500 people apply for a couple of Fire dept jobs that come available. I have to wonder? Are we paying them to much? $38,412 Oh ya don’t forget medical, retirment. Goverment jobs are the only ones that offer the benifits, and what does that come to?

By: Gordon

Gordon — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 05:18:10 +0000

I’m not sure what the Governor’s and U president’s salaries have to do with the price of fire hose, but as for the folks on the red trucks:
I’d say chop the top bosses’ salaries down to some sane amount and spread those extra bucks among the men and women who actually get down off the truck and run into burning houses to try to save the lives of the people inside, who put their lives in danger every time they climb a ladder to the roof of a flaming structure, who move up closer to get the spray where it needs to go without knowing what’s inside that might explode at any moment, who come barreling along to the scene of a traffic accident or heart attack or gunshot wound or anyplace else that someone might need help in a hurry.

I’ve never understood the logic — in businesses, police agencies, governments, fire departments or anywhere else of giving the least money to the people who actually do the jobs, and the most money to the people who just oversee the ones doing the work.

By: Sisyphus

Sisyphus — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:23:17 +0000

I always thought it was slightly odd that of state employees the Governor’s salary was way down on the list beaten out mostly by Deans and professors at the U of I, the President of which was the highest paid state employee. Kempthorne rectified that somewhat but the Governor is still not the highest paid state employee and I’m not sure he should be. The current Governor seems to really like the job and professes to not need the money and I suppose we should recognize that the allure of the job is not always pecuniary. Also using a politician’s salary as a baseline for professionals in government diminshes the value of those professionals.