A blog post from *Politics Early & Often*, part of *Suntimes.com*, discusses how Chicago won’t have to take on additional debt to cover back pay for firefighters and paramedics. The article highlights a five-year contract that avoids union givebacks in exchange for the potential of pension reform.
Earlier this year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel managed to double the city’s “commercial paper†program — from $500 million to $1 billion — to help manage short-term financial needs, including retroactive pay. CFO Lois Scott said at the time that the program would ensure liquidity for unexpected expenses like salary payments and legal judgments.
However, City Hall claims the more than $20 million needed for back pay is already accounted for in the mayor’s 2014 budget through general finance accounts, meaning no new borrowing is required.
The agreement includes an 11% pay raise over five years, maintains staffing levels, and upgrades all 15 basic-life-support ambulances to advanced-life-support units. This change is expected to improve emergency care and free up about 30 firefighters, as each BLS ambulance is staffed by two firefighter-EMTs. The city also plans to hire between 50 and 200 additional paramedics.
“This is a way to get around some of the staffing requirements,†said a source familiar with the deal. “Manning factors drop, and more people are available in firehouses. It’s a win-win.â€
A six-member committee — three appointed by the mayor and three by the Chicago Firefighters Union — will assess the need for more ambulances. One of the goals is to add five more by 2016, bringing the total to 80. Alderman Nick Sposato, a former firefighter, emphasized the importance of sending advanced-life-support ambulances instead of basic ones, noting that thousands of times last year, BLS units had to be upgraded mid-response.
While the mayor secured some concessions, such as requiring retirees aged 55–59 to contribute 2% toward health care, he failed to push through many other key demands, including changes to holiday pay, clothing allowances, and premium pay. The union also rejected his proposal to reduce staffing on certain fire apparatus.
Instead, the deal was described as “vanilla†— modest but aimed at fostering collaboration to tackle the city’s broader pension crisis. Next year, Chicago must contribute $600 million to stabilize its underfunded police and fire pension systems. Emanuel is seeking to delay this payment until 2023 to buy time for negotiations with unions.
“Pushing for more aggressive changes would have led to interest arbitration, and we would have had to give something else in return,†said a source involved in the talks.
Thanks, Dan.
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