Oxford’s firefighters received a couple of early Christmas presents from the township board during a special meeting held Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Following a closed session, officials voted 7-0 to approve a three-year labor agreement with the Oxford Fire Fighters Union, International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 4763.
If approved by the firefighters union, which is expected to vote on it Dec. 17, the new contract will take effect on Jan. 1 and expire on Dec. 31, 2018.
‘Once they okay it and sign it, it’s a done deal,? said township Supervisor Bill Dunn.
Firefighter Kevin Snell, who’s served as president of the Oxford Fire Fighters Union since it was formed in 2009, doesn’t anticipate any problems.
‘I expect it to pass,? he said. ‘I don’t expect to have a majority turn it down.?
Only full-time firefighters belong to the union.
Negotiations began in September and concluded late Monday afternoon, according to Fire Chief Pete Scholz.
‘Overall, I think it’s (a) pretty good (contract),? he said. ?(Township Trustee) Jack (Curtis) and I, and the (union) bargaining unit, put a lot of time into it. We cleaned up the language in a lot of the areas (from) previous contracts.?
‘I think it’s a fair deal for the firefighters,? Snell said. ‘I think it’s a very fair deal.?
Following the contract approval, the township board voted 7-0 to hire two additional firefighters/paramedics, also effective Jan. 1.
Anthony Graybill and Ryan McLeod will be the new employees. Currently, both are paid-on-call members of the department.
Graybill has been with the agency since 2008 and McLeod since 2010.
Oxford voters approved a 1-mill property tax increase for the fire department in November 2014. Part of the additional revenue generated by it is being used to fund these two new positions.
The addition of these men increases the department’s full-time firefighting staff from 13 to 15.
‘There will be three, four-man shifts,? Scholz said. ‘And then we have the lieutenant (fire) inspector and the EMS coordinator, which makes it 14, and myself makes 15.?
The new union contract gives all the full-time firefighters, excluding the chief, who is not part of the union, a 2.5 percent salary increase for 2016.
But instead of pocketing the raise, it will all go toward helping fund the firefighters? pensions through the Municipal Employees Retirement System (MERS).
The union firefighters will increase their retirement contributions from 2.5 to 5 percent of their gross wages. The amount will be automatically deducted from their paychecks.
This will help the township begin to decrease the amount of unfunded liability it has through MERS, which as of Dec. 31, 2014, amounted to $1.67 million.
In addition to the firefighters? contributions, the township intends to help further reduce the unfunded retirement liability by contributing the savings the municipality will realize from no longer having to pay property taxes on Stony Lake Park. It amounts to approximately $12,000 per year.
This is not part of the union contract.
It was the result of discussions between the township board and village council during a special joint meeting held Dec. 7 to address MERS funding.
The idea of using the tax savings came from Ron Davis, director of the township parks and recreation department.
Back in November, township officials decided to allow non-residents to use Stony Lake Park effective Dec. 31. It has been a resident-only park for many years.
As a result of this decision, the township will save approximately $12,000 annually in local, county and state property taxes. Under state law, resident-only parks are subject to taxation, while parks open to everyone are tax-exempt.
According to the contract, the full-time firefighters would only receive pay raises in 2017 and 2018 if township employees were given an increase. In that instance, union firefighters would receive the same percentage as the other township employees.
‘We’re basically putting the ball in their hands,? Snell said. ‘If they deem that the township employees deserve a raise, we’re just asking for (an) equal raise. We’re not dictating that we should (get) a raise in the future.?
Under the new contract, firefighters will be paid for 100 percent of their unused vacation time every November. Under the current contract, which expires Dec. 31, firefighters get paid for 50 percent of their unused vacation time. They have to either ‘use or lose? the other half, according to Snell.
Trustee Curtis said this is an incentive for firefighters to take the additional pay as opposed to the time off. This will help save the department money because it won’t have to pay overtime wages to cover for a vacationing firefighter, he explained.
‘Everybody wins,? Curtis said.
Snell agreed.
‘Every employee’s motivated by something different,? he said. ‘Some guys are motivated (by) days off. Other people are motivated (by) the money. It gives the employee the option.?
Snell wished to express his gratitude to Oxford for its continued support.
‘I (want to) thank the citizens again for the six-year millage that allows us to operate and provide services to this community,? he said.