August 09, 2024 6:45 pm• Last Updated: August 09, 2024 7:10 pm
East Lyme ― The process of centralizing fire services in town continued this week with the ratification of a new contract between the town and its full-time firefighters.
The three-year contract was approved unanimously Wednesday by the Board of Selectmen. It follows the creation in the 2024-25 budget of the East Lyme Fire Service, which put two independent volunteer fire companies, 11 full-time firefighters and five part-time firefighters under the supervision of one chief.
The contract recognizes organizational changes in place since February, when First Selectman Dan Cunningham shifted oversight of the town’s paid firefighters from his office to the Fire Services. He appointed Fire Marshal Bill Bundy as acting fire chief and Deputy Fire Marshal Erik Quinn as acting assistant fire chief.
The firefighters contract was signed by Cunningham and Wick Haylon, president of Local 3377 of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Cunningham said trust on both sides allowed them to come up with a contract that “meets in the middle.”
“It’s good for the fire service, it's good for the town, and it really paves the way for the future of the East Lyme Fire Service,” he said.
Haylon could not be reached for comment.
Negotiations have been ongoing since before the current contract expired on June 30 of last year. The contract includes wage increases between 1% and 1.5% every six months, with a total increase of 7.75% over three years.
Finance Director Kevin Gervais said the “big bargaining chip” during negotiations was the 24-hours-on, 48-hours-off schedule that will go into effect on or around Jan. 1.
The new schedule will assign four firefighters around the clock from Sunday through Friday. Since there are 11 full-time firefighters currently, one part-time firefighter will be brought in each week to fill out the schedule.
Gervais said the hope is to hire a 12th full-time firefighter as part of the 2025-26 budget process.
Until the shift changes go into effect in the new year, firefighters will continue working their current daytime schedule of five, nine-hour days. Two firefighters cover the overnight shift from Sunday through Thursday, according to the contract.
Quinn, the acting assistant fire chief, said the new schedule will enhance full-time firefighting staffing during evening and overnight hours “when the population of the town is higher.”
He said two firefighters will be assigned to the Niantic headquarters and two to the Flanders station.
Currently, Quinn said there are two full-time firefighters at the Flanders Fire Department station on Boston Post Road, three at the Niantic Fire Department headquarters on Beckwith Street and two at Niantic’s West Main Street station on weekdays.
Overnight coverage places one full-time firefighter at the Niantic headquarters and one at the Flanders station, according to Quinn.
The new schedule also eliminates compensatory time, which previously allowed firefighters to take an hour and a half off for every overtime hour worked. Gervais said offering compensatory time was expensive because bringing in firefighters to fill the shifts of those taking time off from work ends up costing the town more in overtime.
Firefighters’ share of health insurance premiums will rise from the current 18.5% to 19.5% by the end of the contract. A $400 annual gym membership allowance is included in the contract for the first time.
Next steps
Cunningham said the next step in the evolution of the East Lyme Fire Service will involve appointing Bundy and Quinn as the permanent chief and assistant chief. He said he plans to put the item on the agenda for a September meeting of the selectmen.
The first selectman previously said an ordinance establishing the fire services department would need to be approved before making the fire chief and assistant fire chief positions permanent. But he said he no longer believes the ordinance needs to come first.
The town charter empowers the first selectman to “hire and dismiss employees of the town” as long as he gives notice to the Board of Selectmen after he does so. The board can overrule any hire by a majority vote at the following meeting.
“Before I go appointing somebody, I want to be sure I have the support of the board,” he said.
His plan then is to ask selectmen to codify the move through new town ordinances laying out the structure of the Fire Services department and a Board of Fire Commissioners, he said.
He likened a fire commission to the Board of Police Commissioners, which has oversight of hiring, firing and discipline of all officers in town.
e.regan@theday.com
