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Calumet Park Fire Department news (more)
In a groundbreaking decision that could reshape the way smaller suburban towns handle emergency services, Calumet Park has decided to hand over its fire department operations to a private contractor as a cost-cutting measure. The village board unanimously approved this move on November 8th, agreeing to terminate its relationship with the firefighters' union and signing a five-year contract with Kurtz Ambulance Service to handle fire suppression and ambulance services.
According to the village's attorney, this move might spark a domino effect among neighboring southern suburbs struggling with similar financial pressures. He mentioned being in talks with three other south suburban towns considering outsourcing their firefighting services. Kurtz will officially take over Calumet Park's fire department starting December 1st. They plan to deploy 12 full-time firefighter/paramedics working in four-person shifts, replacing the existing 30-plus part-time firefighters. Out of these 12 positions, four will be filled by current Calumet Park firefighters who have chosen to continue working full-time under Kurtz.
Calumet Park will initially pay Kurtz $825,000 in the first year of the contract, with annual increments culminating in a maximum payment of $925,000 by the fifth year. This figure does not include the fire chief's salary, who remains a village employee, nor the costs associated with maintaining buildings and equipment or utility expenses. Despite these additional costs, the village anticipates saving at least half a million dollars annually by partnering with Kurtz.
The severance package offered to unionized firefighters—$1,000 per year of service—will eat into these projected savings. Half of this severance amount will be paid on November 30th, with the remainder due in spring 2019, totaling approximately $240,000. Martin Rita, a 12-year veteran and union president, expressed disappointment over not reaching an agreement to retain in-house services despite several proposals from the union. Although he acknowledged the continuity provided by four transitioning firefighters, he remains concerned about the potential drop in service quality under private management.
Mayor [Name] emphasized that while he holds no doubts about the current firefighters' capabilities, the village's precarious financial situation left no choice but to pursue privatization. A significant motivator was the revelation that 18 part-time firefighters were nearing pension eligibility, potentially obligating the village to cover years of unpaid contributions. Rising workers' compensation and healthcare costs for part-time employees further solidified the necessity of this move.
Looking ahead, Calumet Park officials aim to extend their private fire and paramedic services beyond their borders to generate supplementary income. If successful, they hope to establish intergovernmental firefighting and EMS agreements akin to those already in place for 911 dispatch services, handled through their emergency communications center run by Kurtz.
Joe Richert, Secretary-Treasurer of Service Employees International Union Local 73, remarked that this marks the first instance of a private firm replacing a unionized fire department in the region. Pat Devaney, President of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois, noted that while threats of fire department privatization aren't unprecedented in Illinois, this is one of the few cases where such a move has actually come to fruition. Outside North Riverside, where legal challenges thwarted privatization efforts, there haven’t been many examples of municipalities successfully outsourcing their firefighting services.
Thanks, Ron!