The debate over the impact a new contract with Owen Sound firefighters will have on the city’s’ budget is continuing.
Both Mayor Deb Haswell, and City Manager Ruth Coursey claimed that the Fire and Emergency services budget will jump 14 per cent because of higher wages and benefits.
They argue it’s the direct result of a recent arbitration decision that gives firefighters an 11 per cent wage hike in each of the last three years.
On the CFOS Open Line on Wednesday morning — the President of the City’s Professional Firefighters Association disputed a number of statements.
Dave Cruickshank says the City has budgeted for a three per cent wage increase in the fire budget for the last three years, so there should be little impact on the 2012 budget.
He also took issue with statements by Councillor David Adair who is on the Fire Services Ad Hoc Committee.
Adair says the average firefighter makes 100 thousand dollars a year in wages and benefits compared to the average wage of 50 thousand dollars in the City.
Cruickshank says you can skew the numbers whatever way you want.
He says Adair is comparing apples and oranges since he isn’t including the benefits for the average wage earner.
The head of the Firefighters Association believes the Mayor and City Manager want to blame someone for a tax increase, and the fire department is being targeted.
Adair has said in the past they perhaps should look at setting up a fire department like Orillia has, with a mix of full and part time firefighters.
