Robert Burkett
11-17-2008, 12:37 PM
November 10, 2008
It amazes me how Times Picayune and other local media reporters have accepted as completely factual the propoganda that Jefferson Parish officials have given them in reference to the Jefferson Parish Fire Department. These "facts" as with any statistical data can be skewed. Parish officials have hired a PR firm and special attorney, Mickey Landry, to get these and only these "facts" out to the public. Unfortunately I haven't seen much of an explanation of the "facts" from the firefighters' prospectives being brought forward by any of the local media outlets.
Yes, some firefighters have worked more overtime than usual which is reflected in their increased salaries. This was due to a severe shortage of entry level firefighters and 911 fire operators, firefighter training and fire watch duty mandated when a commercial building has a problem with its sprinkler system or in the process of installing a new sprinkler system. These situations made available opportunites for current firefighters, operators, lieutenants, captains and chiefs to earn extra overtime. Of course, the higher the rank the greater the pay, which equated into greater costs for overtime. This is not a firefighter problem, this is a management and parish problem that could have been solved a long time ago if parish officials would have hired the much needed entry level firefighters.
In reference to drug testing, firefighters have been randomly drug tested for many years. The lawsuit filed by the Union took exception with the recent policy requiring firefighters to report any medication whether prescribed or over the counter to non medical personnel. Privacy was the major issue in this situation not drug testing. The public should know that the Union won this lawsuit last week.
Now parish officials want to take exception with where firefighters live. The most recent "fact" being expoused is that 2/3 of fire department employees live outside of the parish and "fire district." The fact is there is no rule requiring firefighters to live within the "fire district." Again, the PR firm and Mickey Landry only want the public to know part of the story.
I would hope that equal time would be given to both sides of this story. By "time," I mean more than a minute of airtime and more than a brief article in the paper. The citizens of Jefferson Parish deserve better from the local media and from Parish Officials.
Marie Schindler
It amazes me how Times Picayune and other local media reporters have accepted as completely factual the propoganda that Jefferson Parish officials have given them in reference to the Jefferson Parish Fire Department. These "facts" as with any statistical data can be skewed. Parish officials have hired a PR firm and special attorney, Mickey Landry, to get these and only these "facts" out to the public. Unfortunately I haven't seen much of an explanation of the "facts" from the firefighters' prospectives being brought forward by any of the local media outlets.
Yes, some firefighters have worked more overtime than usual which is reflected in their increased salaries. This was due to a severe shortage of entry level firefighters and 911 fire operators, firefighter training and fire watch duty mandated when a commercial building has a problem with its sprinkler system or in the process of installing a new sprinkler system. These situations made available opportunites for current firefighters, operators, lieutenants, captains and chiefs to earn extra overtime. Of course, the higher the rank the greater the pay, which equated into greater costs for overtime. This is not a firefighter problem, this is a management and parish problem that could have been solved a long time ago if parish officials would have hired the much needed entry level firefighters.
In reference to drug testing, firefighters have been randomly drug tested for many years. The lawsuit filed by the Union took exception with the recent policy requiring firefighters to report any medication whether prescribed or over the counter to non medical personnel. Privacy was the major issue in this situation not drug testing. The public should know that the Union won this lawsuit last week.
Now parish officials want to take exception with where firefighters live. The most recent "fact" being expoused is that 2/3 of fire department employees live outside of the parish and "fire district." The fact is there is no rule requiring firefighters to live within the "fire district." Again, the PR firm and Mickey Landry only want the public to know part of the story.
I would hope that equal time would be given to both sides of this story. By "time," I mean more than a minute of airtime and more than a brief article in the paper. The citizens of Jefferson Parish deserve better from the local media and from Parish Officials.
Marie Schindler