Pelham firefighters: 'Town disrespects us'

By BEN STORROW Staff Writer

Published on February 05, 2010

PELHAM - A division between the Fire Department and town officials emerged here this week, after firefighters threatened to quit their jobs over an alleged lack of respect shown to their department.

The rift exposed many of the difficulties facing small towns and their municipal departments, as the country attempts to climb out of the recent economic downturn. On one side of the debate, firefighters said they were woefully underpaid and that requests for new equipment, namely a new fire truck, had been repeatedly denied over the last couple of years. On the other side, town officials said they had been unaware of firefighters complaints over wages and that the town's hands were financially bound when it came to new expenditures.

The disagreement between the two sides emerged after nine members of the department sent a letter to the editor, outlining a series of grievances over the way the department had been treated. The firefighters listed the town's unwillingness to compensate the chief at rate comparable to surrounding towns, low pay for rank-and-file members, and alleged that Chief Raymond Murphy had been left out of budget discussions regarding the departments operations. The letter concluded by saying that department members could resign from their posts if the issues remained unresolved.

On Wednesday, town officials expressed frustration that the department had decided to go to the newspaper to air their grievances, instead of pursuing what, they said, were the proper channels to file a complaint.

"What's frustrating from my position is that there is a proper way to handle these issues, especially payroll issues," said Select Board member Jim Huber, who serves as the board's liaison to the Fire Department. He said grievances can first be brought to the Personnel Board. If the department feels the Personnel Board has not resolved the issue in a satisfactory manner, then it can then contact Huber himself, as the liaison to the department, and then the Select Board as a whole, Huber said.

"By sending the letter they did to the newspaper, they made it clear they didn't want to go down the proper channels as far as salaries and expenditures," Huber said. "All of the proper ways were circumvented."

Huber said he had spoken with Murphy regarding the purchase of a rescue pumper and an increase in Murphy's salary last week.

"I spoke with Ray and made it clear that the town is really under some financial constraints no matter what," Huber said. The Finance Committee recommended that the purchase of the pumper be put off until next year, Huber said, adding that no decisions regarding the purchase had been made. The new truck's cost is estimated at $500,000, Huber said.

"It is such a large expense it is really important to see if the town is going to stand behind that expense for a small town Fire Department," Huber said, noting it was his preference that the matter be taken up by Town Meeting.

For his part, Murphy said there is a misconception today about the duties of a small town fire department. He noted after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, fire departments are required by law to be prepared for and be able to respond to terrorist attacks. Such requirements have increased the work load for small town firefighters, he said.

In his own case, Murphy noted that he often goes uncompensated for much of his work. In fiscal year 2009, the town spent about $13,000, capping Murphy's hours at 10 hours a week. Yet the fire chief said he often works more than 10 hours and receives no compensation.

"Now you are dealing with a whole different type of services that fire departments are responsible for," Murphy said. "Fire departments now have protocols and procedures that relate to a terrorism incident and hazardous materials mitigation. This is what communities everywhere are going to have to realize; you volunteer-call fire departments are no longer the social clubs they were 20 years ago."

Pelham Fire Department is a call Fire Department, in which firefighters are paid an hourly rate. They are paid 7.25 per hour and have their hours capped at 300 hours per year.

As for the rescue pumper, Murphy said that the town had agreed to by the vehicle per its 10-year capital plan in 2009, but is now planning to delay the purchase to FY 2013. He said that determination had been made by Finance Committee Chairman John Trickey.

"He took it upon himself to make this determination without talking to the Capital Planning Committee or the fire chief regarding this major purchase," Murphy said.

Trickey said that no determinations had been made regarding the purchase of the truck.

He said his past statements regarding a delay in the purchase of a truck were merely his opinion and did not represent any sort of final decision. The Capital Planning Committee was due to take the issue up Wednesday, he said.

"There has been nor formal request or discussion of a fire truck this year, as far as I'm aware," Trickey said in a phone interview Monday.