Re: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnowingNewport/message/705

I must comment on this statement attributed to Mike Cullen,
"are the local municipal unions simply going to dig in their
heels on the health benefit cost sharing issue and simply accept
the reality of hiring freezes and layoffs? (Probably, yes)".

I wish people would become informed before making such claims. The
Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of Newport and the
Firefighters has a clause that allowed discussion of cost sharing in
the SECOND year of the contract; the second year ended June 30,
2004. The firefighters reminded the City (not the other way around),
of such a clause in May 2004 and the City contacted the Union for one
session. The firefighters offered to exend the time-frame to
continue the dialogue in the area of cost-sharing, however through
the Summer and Fall of 2004 time never seemed to be available to the
City. The firefighters union offered an unsolicited cost-sharing
package to the City of Newport in October 2004, which the City
rejected. So you can see, it isn't the unions "digging in their
heals".

Also comments regarding the "overheated overtime budget" must be
addressed. The City of Newport is artificially driving up the
overtime costs by not hiring firefighters. The city contract
mandates that 20 firefighters will be on-duty at all times. The city
is presently short FIVE firefighters (not just ONE, as stated in the
Daily News), also one firefighter has been called to serve in Iraq,
and another is out due to a job related injury. These SEVEN missing
positions are what is driving up the Overtime costs. To compound the
problem the City can't hire firefighters to reduce these overtime
costs because in the Fall of 2004, the City allowed the hiring list
to expire (they are still in the process of establishing a new list
which I believe is several months away).
[I will add that the City believes they are saving money by not
hiring, so there must be a savings by driving up the overtime costs]

I hope this answered some of the comments that have been raised. We
don't need people to incite the public, but rather provide solutions
to them. Thank you.

Brian Dugan