Paid on-call Leelanau Township firefighters will receive their 2023 annual continuity “legacy” bonus after all following the township board’s unanimous approval last week.
The legacy compensation is separate from pay within the union fire contract, and is given out at the end of the year to both full-time and paid on-call firefi ghters in the township. The Dec. 12 decision to continue with the annual bonus for paid on-call personnel was originally called into question and tabled by the board in November to further discuss the matter. The total sum of legacy compensation paid to full time fire department personnel in 2023 is $10,075, while the total for paid on-call is $8,600.
The approval shows the level of confidence the board has finally shown for the paid on-call personnel, said township Fire Chief Hugh Cook, adding that the fulltime staff within the fire department, excluding himself, are under union contract. Legacy annual pay varies for different fire department personnel, but is based on the individual’s years of service and what their title may be, such as firefighter 2, fire officer 3, or assistant and deputy chiefs, Cook explained.
In the coming weeks, Cook said he plans to meet with fire department personnel to discuss possible options of adjusting the pay while ensuring everyone still feels comfortable with the outcome. His goal is to come back and present these adjustments and ideas in January to the township board. “The union is under contract, so that’s cut and dry. I’ll be discussing with paid on-call if there’s anything they would like to do differently, if there’s anything we could do for cuts, and then present it to the board in January,” Cook said. “In a discussion with the supervisor a week ago, it was decided we would stick with that amount (of $16.25 an hour for paid on-call). The guys would love to see an increase, but it’s not about the money. We/they do not do it for the money, they do it for the community… I would say they’re very happy with the outcome.”
Like November’s board meeting, many community members showed up last Tuesday in support of local firefighters receiving fair pay. Township Supervisor Mike McMillan started off the meeting addressing the issue before public comment, explaining what the intent was and what they aimed to achieve in respect to the on-call staff.
“There was no intention with doing anything with the 2023 bonus,” McMillan said. “I asked (Cook) to work with the on-call guys and work with the board if he wants to, but to come back to us in January with a recommendation on how they think it might be more equitable, that was my position on it, versus the timed work.”
“I think we all agree that the value of our on-call is immeasurable and the intent I think was to look at cost savings, which is the responsible thing that we should do and look at the whole township expenditure,” said trustee Gina Harder. “Whatever happened there we looked in the wrong place, but I hope this issue is completely resolved in that we had no intention of reducing the pool of our on-call…” Following McMillan’s comment, numerous members of the public, including paid on-call firefighter Dave Tompkins, voiced their concerns about the topic of pay and the meeting held between the supervisor and fire department personnel earlier this month.
“We basically spent the next hour and a half (at the meeting) trying to convince you and trying to explain how a fire department works and how it’s not just some of us arriving on certain scenes when we have a structure fire or a lot of trees down with power lines involved or an accident scene — we’re all there, it’s not just some of us,” Tompkins said.
“This is such a minor amount of money that, to me, penny pinching in this way is very disrespectful …we have such a need for this, we are a rural community and have to rely on each other, and so the idea that we would kind of slap in the face this way is kind of frustrating,” said Elizabeth Schwind, who followed Tompkins comment. “I always want to ask questions and I want to be fiscally responsible too, but not at the cost of our fire safety…” Amanda Kruk, another Northport resident, also commented on the importance of the fire department personnel, recounting a recent time when she had to call for help due to a medical emergency.
“It is so valuable to me as a resident to have you all here volunteers especially, and I want them to be paid competitively and I want them to want to be here and want to do this because it is so incredibly important as a mom, and as a community member,” Kruk said.
