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Home My WebLink AboutHandout_Special Meeting_09/15/2011 (1) L �cal �`�ews � The Palm Beach Post » Blog Archive » Fire-rescue pay tops Palm Beach Co... Page 1 of 9 � '�i r�?� - rm, ,�� i , ;i� �ri. �.- !�� . x �� ° � < �` �- •� 9 N { ' =I'� • • 1 ',;� g i �,;P ' ' ,;�' 1 ,� � � : ,� — � �� ,_ '�a �� i �i. ,.� � � - i .,.-. � �' "-r °:e _i U � 1�L5 ' E-POST JOBS AUTOS REAL ESTATE CLASSIFIEDS PLACE AN AD Subscribe � Renew H OMENEW S WEATHERSPORTSMONEYOBITUARIESOPINIONLI V INGENTERTAINMENTPHOTOS VIDEOSSERV ICES L ocal News �-i GreaterPaIm Eeaches artd Treasure Coast Tax hike spares d�uties ke�s bus fares flat and nature centers/pools open » Fire-rescue pay tops Palm Beach County Sheriff's staff by Post Staff �- ;,. �_� � :s� � _ � �. �� ,, �:� . t; ��.{'"""`y� �; ryj � ;, -.k $ �. �'� - �� . �r ��` � -_ '4 , k � _` � � _�� . � . _..... _ s..?.'-.._..._ In the line of duty Counry fire-rescue responds to a Wellington house fire in May. (Allen Eyestone/ Post file photo) By JENNIFER SORENTRUE and ADAM PLAYFORD Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office employees earn an average of $22,700 a yeaz less than their counterparts at the county's fire-rescue division, according to a Palm Beach Post analysis of the departments' payrolls. The average base salary for a full-time sheriff s office employee is $67,492, the analysis shows. Full-time fire-rescue employees, by comparison, eam an average base salary of $90,245. The average base salary for swoin sheriff s deputies and staff officers is $72,175.54, The Post's analysis shows $13,500 more than their civilian counterparts, but still well behind fire-rescue employees. Despite the contrast, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has repeatedly been pressured to cut his $482.6 million spending plan, including annual longevity raises that he says state law requires he give deputies. Fire-rescue administrators, on the other hand, have faced little public criticism of their budget proposal, even as commissioners struggle to cut county spending. Bradshaw's budget is lumped in with general county spending and is funded largely through countywide property Yaxes. The commission is considering increasing the county's main property tax rate for the third straight year. Meanwhile, the county's fire-rescue department relies on a separate property tax rate to fund its operations. The department plans to hold that rate flat for the third year in a row. The fire-rescue tax appears as a separate line item on tax bills and is paid only by those living in the county's unincorporated areas or in municipalities served by county fire-rescue. The public will have a chance to comment at 6 p.m. today as county commissioners hold the first of two state-mandated public heazings on the budget and proposed property tax rate. "WiCh fire-rescue, their (ta�c rate) stands out very much and they have kept (it) stable and low for the past few years because of the visibility of it," County Administrator Bob Weisman said. C�� } i� Y' ��` � �l http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/2011/09/13/fire-rescue-pay-tops-sheriffs 9/15/2011 I�cal i�iews � The Palm Beach Post » Blog Archive » Fire-rescue pay tops Palm Beach Co... Page 2 of 9 Whether Bradshaw, an independendy elected officiai, would receive less criticism over his annual spending if his office had its own tazc rate is "debatable," Weisman said. "If he had to defend increases in his (tax rate) to the voters directly, that might not be a thing a sheriff would want to do," Weisman said. Bradshaw didn't return requests for comment. Personnel costs such as salaries, benefits and overtime make up the vast majority of both the departments' budgets. Neazly 1,400 fire-rescue employees and 2,650 sheriff's office employees took home overtime in 2010. But, on average, they receivedsnnilar amounts: $4,297.48 for sherifPs employees and $4,189.67 for fire-rescue personnel, The PosYs analysis shows. About 8 percent of the fire-rescue employees receiving overtime made more than $10,000, as did 13 percent of the sheriff's employees. Weisman took aim at The Post's analysis, saying that comparing across-the-board salary information was "somewhat apples to oranges." "I think you've got to do a line-by-line analysis on that," Weisman said, adding: "You have different qualifications for all these positions. Some people aze firefighters. Some are pazamedics. They get paid more." Fire6ghters work a 48-hour week, Weisman added, giving them less time with their families. Fire-Rescue Chief Steve Jerauld said his departmenYs salary studies don't look at the sheriff's office. "When we do comparisons, we're obligated to look at other fire departments rather than law enforcement agencies," Jerauld said. "And that's by state law: ' But John Kazanjian, president of the Palm Beach Counry Police Benevolent Association, the law enforcement union, said he has been comparing benefits given to county firefighters and pazamedics with those that the sheriff's office receives since the deputies unionized in 2003. "'I'hey are a public safety office, just like we are," Kazanjian said. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis6cs, the average annual salary of a Firefighter in Florida in 2010, $50,010, was slighdy less than that of police and sheriff's patrol officers, $55,840. But the average annual salary of fust-line fuefighting supervisors, $78,510, was slightly higher than first-line supervisors of police and detectives, $77,990. Those numbers do not include many other posirions covered by The PosYs analysis, such as corrections officers, fire inspectors or clerical workers in either department. The fuefighters union is negodating a new contract, and Kazanjian said he is keeping a close eye on the deal. The PBA will start negotiating its new conlract with the sheriff's office next yeaz. Depudes have given up their annual cost-of-living raises and have been forced to pay 10 percent more for their health insurance, he said. Mike Mayo, president of the firefighters and paramedics union, did not return a ca11 for comment. Jerauld said contract negotiations have been proceeding slowly, but there are several sessions scheduled for October. The county has asked the union to accept a 22 percent cut to its pay scales, wluch would apply only to new fire-rescue employees. The proposed cut has not been discussed yet, Jerauld said. Although the countywide property tazc rate has been a target for budget watchdogs and polidcal groups, the fire-rescue taac rate has not faced the same level of scrutiny. Bradshaw is forced to negotiate his annual budget allotment in public meetings with counry commissioners each year. As county admiuistrators have cut the budget because of declining property ta�c revenues, Weisman has pushed Bradshaw to bear the brunt of roughly half of those shortfalls. The fire-rescue budget, however, is razely discussed during annual budget workshops and hearings. Only recentiy has the department come under fire, as ta7cpayer watchdogs have started to sit in on union contract talks. County administrators say tlris year is the first time the public has attended such negotiation sessions. In July, a majority of counry commissioners tentauvely agreed to raise the countywide property taJC rate by 2.6 percent, but said they would spend the next two months looking for ways to cut it. The commission voted 4-3 to set the mucimum properly tax rate at just under $4.88 for every $1,000 of taxable value, up from this year's rate of $4.75. The commission agreed to set the fire-rescue talc rate at just under $3.46, wluch they must finalize by Oct. 1. Previously: More than half of counry's fire-rescue employees earn more than $90,000 jennifer sorenlrueCa�nboost.com adam playford@pbpost.com Share 59 4 This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 at 10:13 am and is filed under Uncate og rized You can follow any responses to this enay through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback &om your own site. 131 Responses to "Fire-rescue pay tops Palm Beach County Sheriff's staft" Pages: « 1 2[3] Show All "�� http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/2011/09/13/fire-rescue-pay-tops-sheriffs-staff/ 9/15/2011