June 22--San Carlos firefighters will get an average pay raise of 13 percent under an agreement the city council is scheduled to vote on Monday.
Although their salaries would be paid by San Carlos taxpayers, the firefighters would be employees of and managed by Redwood City's fire department, according to the proposed pact.
If approved, the agreement essentially would outsource San Carlos' fire protection services to a neighboring city.
Two years ago, San Carlos pulled out of a joint fire protection arrangement with Belmont after complaining that its annual share of about $7.1 million was too much. By forming their own fire department in October 2011 and contracting with Redwood City to administer it, San Carlos officials expected to save at least $1 million.
But by last summer, the city was having trouble maintaining a full staff, purportedly because it lowered firefighters' salaries to save money. Some veteran firefighters quit and it took time to train their replacements, officials said.
As a result, San Carlos officials began exploring whether Redwood City would provide the firefighters.
Using a "full service model" would cost about $2 million more over the next five years than initially anticipated, said Rebecca Mendenhall, San Carlos' administrative services director. She explained that the city still has to pay to operate and maintain its own fire stations, engines and equipment, as well as financial obligations stemming
from its joint operation with Belmont.
And in joining Redwood City's department, San Carlos firefighters would receive a considerable boost in pay to match that of their colleagues.
According to salary schedules for each city, Redwood City pays its top-step firefighters $100,968 a year and San Carlos $93,556.
Still, San Carlos' overall tab would be less than if it had stuck with Belmont, according to Mendenhall's memo to the city council. The city would have spent $8.2 million in the 2013-14 fiscal year under its old arrangement with Belmont, compared to $7.3 million under the proposed "full service model" with Redwood City.
And eventually San Carlos could save $50,000-$100,000 a year by consolidating its fire station at 1280 Alameda de las Pulgas with a Redwood City station at 3,700 Jefferson Ave., according to the memo.
Email Bonnie Eslinger at [email protected]; follow her at twitter.com/bonnieeslinger.
Copyright 2013 - Palo Alto Daily News, Calif.
