Posted: Apr. 17, 2012 | 5:33 p.m.<\/p>\n
The Clark County Commission on Tuesday ratified a three-year contract agreement with firefighters that county officials say will save taxpayers about $60 million over 25 years. <\/p>\n
The deal, which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2015, eliminates longevity pay for new hires, where county staff expects to reap most of the savings, and freezes cost-of-living adjustments for the first two years with the option of allowing either party to renegotiate the third year. <\/p>\n
Last week, union members approved the agreement, the third consecutive accord in 18 months to include major financial concessions. <\/p>\n
Commissioners praised county staff and the union for reaching an agreement and used the discussion to publicly support firefighters caught in the cross hairs because of a few accused of abusing sick leave and overtime. <\/p>\n
\"It's time for people to recognize that our fire department does a darn good job; these are good men and women,\" Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said. \"You should never discriminate or paint everyone with a broad brush. I'm hoping to get past the spitting on people and derogatory comments made to our firefighters.\" <\/p>\n
Commissioner Tom Collins invited people to visit a firehouse. <\/p>\n
\"Go out on a call and watch them save a life, put a bloodied body back together from a car wreck or get somebody's heart beating again,\" Collins said. \"Not just anybody knows how to do that, and that's worth something.\" <\/p>\n
County officials have said they spend about $25 million a year on overall longevity pay, originally used to attract employees and reward them annually for their years of service after eight years. <\/p>\n
Longevity pay made up about 8 percent of firefighter pay and 15 percent of battalion chief pay, according to the most recent employee compensation report. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nCounty Commissioners Approve Firefighters Contract<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"