Paul Bass Photos
Carter details plan Tuesday.
Kottage: Where’s the fire marshal?
The Harp administration is calling in an outside expert to help figure out how to rescue the fire department, while also proceeding with efforts to get overtime costs under control and start meeting state reporting laws.
The news was announced at a noon press conference Tuesday at City Hall.
Mayor Toni Harp said she was not “singl[ing] out any person or group within the fire department.” Rather, she said, the controversy-plagued department needs “a higher level accountability.”
To that end, she said, the city will soon issue either a request for proposals or a request for qualifications for a consultant to perform an “external and objective operational review” in the quest to create a “more effective and efficient fire department.”
“It takes time to build up. We are in the process of building up,” she said.
She, Chief Administrative Officer Michael Carter and Fire Chief Alllyn Wright also announced that the first of three new classes of recruits has begun filling depleted ranks; that the city plans to trim the number of lieutenants; and that it plans to install new software soon to enable it to resume meeting state reporting requirements. He announced progress in biting into a project $3.5 million overtime overrun this fiscal year by beginning to fill the department’s 120 vacancies.
Fire union President Jimmy Kottage said he “welcomes” an outside review, then added in reference to city officials: “But they ought to investigate themselves.” He criticized the reduction in the number of lieutenants, predicting a new shortage after coming retirements; and blasted the city for continuing to have an acting fire marshal for four years instead of naming a permanent one.
Rough Year
Tuesday’s press conference represented the latest attempt by the Harp Administration to get on top of a cascade of controversies at the department, some dating back years, others more recent. Harp said at the press conference that she realized during the transition period before she took office on Jan. 1 that addressing these problems would need to be a priority in her first year.
“These problems have been around for a while. They only got worse in the past few months,” stated Board of Alders President Jorge Perez (pictured above speaking at the press conference). He commended the mayor for addressing them.
The most recent controversies include:
• A new threat of state fines over the failure of the city for at least a year to file legally required incident reports.
David Sepulveda Photo
• Accusations from ten members of the command staff that an assistant chief improperly placed firefighters’ lives at risk at the Aug. 25 blaze (pictured) that destroyed Delaney’s Restaurant and Tap Room in Westville.
• Wright’s decision to place the assistant chief, Pat Egan, on indefinite paid leave pending consideration of broader allegations of misconduct. Carter and Wright Tuesday said they had no comment on the investigation, which is ongoing.
• Public calls by the NAACP and New Haven Firebirds, who represent black firefighters, for an independent investigation into Egan’s conduct and allegations of racial discrimination at the department.
• A vote by the fire union’s executive board to pursue an independent investigation into allegations that the union president personally tried to negotiate a six-figure pension deal while also negotiating a two-year extension of the firefighters’ contract with the city. The union president denied the charge, saying he raised the matter separately.
• A lawsuit filed against Chief Wright himself by a man who failed in his quest to become a firefighter; the suit charges that Wright retaliated against him because Wright had a romantic relationship with the man’s ex-girlfriend (also an aspiring firefighter). In an interview with the Independent, Wright called the lawsuit “complete and total nonsense.” Asked if he had had the romantic relationship, he replied that based on legal advice, “I’m not going to say anything about a relationship or not a relationship.”
• An internally generated complaint, since taken up by state Labor Department investigators, that the department has untrained bosses and that a training mishap “endanger[ed] more than 200” lives.
Mashalling Priorities
Chief Wright with Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola at CIty Hall Tuesday.
Besides seeking the outside review, the Harp administration has convened a working group since September to begin tackling the accumulated problems. Chief Administrative Officer Carter said that among the results has been the ordering of a new software system to enable data entered into the department’s system to be sent directly to the state to fulfill incident reporting requirements. The group is examining whether to boost the number of paramedics on staff (New Haven has 16 compared to 40 in Hamden, which is one-third the city’s size, he said) or contract out to a private ambulance company.
A December session with top brass is planned at the fire academy to update operational guidelines based on best practices. Gateway Community College has agreed to partner on a one-year 25-credit EMT/fire suppression course. Plans are underway to repair leaking roofs, dodgy HVAC systems, and other problems at the city’s rundown firehouses. The department is testing candidates this week to hire an emergency medical services supervisor.
The biggest immediate issue, speakers agreed, is filling depleted ranks, for both safety and burnout reasons as well as to bring the overtime budget into line. The department is currently running at a pace to exceed this year’s $3.5 million overtime budget by another $4 million, according to Carter.
That pace has already slowed as 15 recruits have completed training and started working in firehouses, Carter said. He said another 25 members of the same academy class are completing EMT training and should be on the job in December. A second class is expected to finish up in May and add another 41 firefighters to the mix. A third class of 23 recruits is envisioned for this fiscal year as well. That could bring the number of firefighters up to 282, depending on retirements, Carter and Wright said. (He said full budgeted strength is 343.)
The city will also be testing for lieutenants. The department currently has 50 budgeted lieutenant positions. In fact, it has never had more than 36 at a time for the past ten years, Carter said. He said the city plans to cut the number of positions to 40.
After the press conference, union President Kottage said the department should bring on more than 40 lieutenants. Otherwise, he said, the department will have a shortage again because, with an average of 17 to 20 years on the job, a number of current lieutenants are expected to retire in the near future.
Carter responded that he will keep an open mind on staffing: “It’s like putting a new NFL team together — [figuring out] how many tight ends you need … “
Kottage’s larger complaint centered on the position of fire marshal. New Haven has had an acting fire marshal for four years. State law requires leaving the position vacant for no more than 18 months at a time. He said the fire union has gone to court to try to push the city to fill the position.
Markeshia Ricks
Chief Wright said Tuesday that he anticipates testing for and filling the marshal position in the near future. He said that in his first months on the job, he has had to prioritize which internal department fires to put out first. He said he considered filling depleted ranks of firefighters, and getting overtime under control, the first priority, since the department did have an acting marshal (Faustino Lopez, pictured) in place.
“I’m not saying the way I prioritized was right,” he said. “It was a call I made. We have to get it all done.”