New Haven Fire Union Warns About Testing Process

Nov. 14--NEW HAVEN -- Members of the fire union came to the Board of Finance Wednesday night with a message: testing for lieutenant positions before captains will lead to more costly litigation.

Some members of the board didn't take kindly to the message.

"You guys are coming in here and threatening us," Alderwoman Jeanette Morrison said. "That's not playing nice."

Fire union President Lt. James Kottage said his message wasn't a threat, but was what eventually would become a reality if the city decides to test for lieutenant spots before captains. A lawsuit potentially could come from the fire union, and some current lieutenants have said they would consider individual suits. Kottage said he wanted to avoid any of that happening.

"This is what I'm trying to avoid, and you guys are going a few steps down the road," Kottage said.

In essence, the debate boils down to whether the city should test from top to bottom or bottom to top. The order of civil service in the department goes from private (firefighter), to lieutenant, then captain, battalion chief and, finally, deputy chief.

The lieutenant position at the fire department has the shortest job description, reading: "The rules applicable for Captains shall apply to Lieutenants and in the absence of a Captain the Lieutenant will assume the responsibilities of said Officer."

The union, the Firebirds Society and the New Haven Hispanic Firefighters Association argue the city should promote from the top. Firebird Society President Michael Neal said the current group of lieutenants has a great amount of diversity and many are qualified to become captains. Promoting captains would allow the department to increase diversity in the upper ranks.

He said the city would be taking part in a practice called underfilling.

The practice of underfilling is one in which a department promotes an individual to a position, but lacks funds in the budget for that position; instead, the department uses funds from a higher vacant position to pay the salary of the lower position.

Kottage asked the board to consider forming a committee to look at the situation. Ultimately, the board didn't take a vote after Chief Administrative Officer Robert Smuts cautioned them that doing so could undermine final negotiations on the fire union collective bargaining agreement.

Currently there is a tentative verbal agreement on the contract. Kottage said there is still much work to be done in terms of finalizing language before it would even go before the union for ratification.

City officials have countered the underfilling assertion. The city's latest budget changed the salaries for 12 vacant captain positions to $1, which freed money for 12 new lieutenant positions.

"Their (city officials') opinion can't be trusted," said Drillmaster Frank Ricci, vice president of the fire union. "It's been proven time and time again."

He went on to cite numerous civil service cases, including the Supreme Court Ricci v. DeStefano case the city lost.

"This is not underfilling," said Chief Administrative Officer Robert Smuts. He said the board didn't have to take his word for it or Corporation Counsel Victor Bolden's either; it only had to take the word of the former Fire Department Special Master Jonathan Silbert.

The special master position was created to oversee promotions within the department and was created out of the 1998 Broadnax v. City of New Haven case, in which the court originally found that the city had been engaged in the underfilling process. The case went through appeals, but ultimately it was ruled the city was underfilling positions.

Silbert wrote in an annual report in September that he felt the position was no longer needed.

The fire union had brought many complaints to the special master, including the underfilling complaint, and recently a complaint about the fire inspectors test. He dismissed the cases.

Smuts said the city decided to make the budgetary change from captains to lieutenants because it looked like the city and union would end up in arbitration while arguing the verbal versus written weights of the captain test.

One potential remedy could come when the collective bargaining agreement between the city and fire union is finalized. An agreement could allow the city to test for lieutenant and captain positions concurrently, which would satisfy both the city and the union.

Kottage said the city hasn't approached him yet on the weights for the captain test.

Other arguments were made by the union besides underfilling. One was that doing lieutenants first would allow new lieutenants to test for the later captain position along with more experienced lieutenants, some who have 14 years on the job.

The move potentially could see newer lieutenants become captains over more experienced lieutenants

Ricci argued that more experienced members of the department should be promoted to the upper ranks. It takes knowledge, experience and training in order to be an effective fire officer, he said.

"We need to move forward and get the department back to where it has to be," Kottage said.

Call Rich Scinto at 203-789-5748. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.