Wednesday’s December 17th column on the Yorkton Firefighters generated a lot of discussion as people passed me on the street or knew how to reach me through social media and I found myself debating for much of the last seven days. There are plenty who understand the importance of a professional team and there are also a healthy number who oppose it and, simply, don’t see the need.
This week, I raise some questions (some of which are my own, some of which were thrown my way and I didn’t know the answer to) for all of us to ponder before making up our minds as to what side of the debate we fall on.
—Why does the Yorkton union bring up wages in other cities when trying to justify their wage? My own answer for this is because that’s what all professions do, including our own municipal politicians. I believe the last time Yorkton’s mayor and council received raises, it was stated our mayor should receive, approximately, 75% of an MLA’s annual salary. Personally, I don’t see the relationship aside from that MLAs and municipal politicians are both elected to office. I would think comparing to another city’s mayor and councillors would be a more accurate comparison. For fun, I notice Moose Jaw’s mayor makes less than Yorkton despite the size being double, but who’s nitpicking? For firefighters, the numbers I have been given by an anonymous source, show Yorkton’s veterans made $59,000 while Moose Jaw’s were at almost $70,000 according to Yorkton’s 2011 contract and Moose Jaw’s 2010. Moose Jaw’s union and city went to arbitration in September and haven’t heard back. Yorkton, usually, runs $500 higher than that of a Swift Current firefighter and they were at $61,000 for 2011. For those that suggest Yorkton firefighters make the same as Regina and Saskatoon, you are mistaken. There is still going to be a $20,000 a year difference at the end of the third year from what those two cities pay their firefighters. Are firefighter salaries becoming difficult for ALL municipalities? Yes. Absolutely. But, Yorkton isn’t being paid disproportionately more than anywhere else.
—Why did the city just build a brand new fire hall if the status of full-time firefighters will always be on shaky ground?
—If it’s okay for our elected officials to question the need for these workers, should we question the need for our councillors? Does Yorkton need seven? Could we get by with five?
—Is the city budget managed so well that we need to look at slicing the fire department to make ends meet? Is there no frivolous spending whatsoever in any other department? What’s the city budget for fuel? I’m already, personally, saving 25% myself from this time last year. To me, there are other areas that could be looked at without blaming the firefighters for an unbalanced budget. What’s the management structure within city hall? Are there some jobs that could be doubled up? I notice we just hired a full-time IT person because Yorkton is lagging behind in this area. I wonder if an IT job couldn’t be combined with something else? I also think chopping a fire department isn’t exactly what a growing, progressive city does; but that’s a personal opinion.
—Before we start throwing around the idea of a volunteer fire department, have we considered if we even have enough volunteers? Lloydminster uses volunteers and one report I’ve been given indicates they struggle to fill a shift when an emergency is warranted. How embarrassing would that be to not have enough volunteers to respond to the train situation a couple of weeks ago? One also has to assume with volunteers scattered about the city, maybe they couldn’t all get to the location anyway with the train blocking all the major access points. Estevan, which is smaller than Yorkton, is believed to be toying with the idea of employing professionals; while Yorkton considers dumping theirs.
—Will home insurance go up in the event of not being able to fight fires as fast with volunteers? After all, a volunteer is going to have to leave his full-time job then report to the fire hall, so this will cause a bit of a delay that doesn’t, presently, exist. Would the cost increase in many people’s premiums offset the cost of having full-time workers?
—What happens to future industry expansion in our city? I’ve heard from a couple of sources that JRI and Louis Dreyfus both pointed to the fact Yorkton has a full-time fire department as one of the reasons they settled here. Is it a stretch to suggest future companies would go somewhere else if we no longer have it?
In closing, the remark that someone made to the media last week that the Yorkton Firefighters haven’t saved a single building is, incredibly, disrespectful. This is not true. There will always be smoke damage, but I know of two or three buildings off the top of my head that are still standing after having a fire inside in the last couple of years. An added point to that is that firefighters are taught to save lives first, then worry about the building, and then consider the environment. In that order. I would suggest if you go back to the apartment fire from earlier this month, that’s exactly what occurred there.
In a time to be thankful, let’s be thankful we are supported by a great firefighting team, and a municipal government that is trying to be financially responsible. Everyone has the public’s interests at heart and that’s good to see.
Merry Christmas.
