Union: Demoted Florida Firefighter is Paid Too Much

ORLANDO, Fla. --

Channel 9 broke the cheating scandal that rocked the Orlando Fire Department last summer. One of the firefighters who lost his promotion over it, still kept much of his pay raise and the city's about to spend thousands of tax dollars to fight the union over it.

Firefighters at the Orlando Fire Station say they are upset with Brian Will's salary. The city says it's a unique case, so the issue will be fought out in arbitration.

Brian Will is the highest paid lieutenant in the Orlando Fire Department. He makes about $82,000, the equivalent of a chief's salary. But according to an agreement between the union and the city of Orlando, lieutenants are supposed to be paid between $6,000 and $24,000 less.

"You can't pay him $5,000 more than every lieutenant for doing the same job. It sends the wrong message to the rest of the department and lieutenants," said union president Steve Clelland.

Last year, Brian Will and Rudy Johnson were suspended 30 days without pay for cheating on a promotions exam. But after several Eyewitness News reports, at least 100 emails from residents and an appeals process, the city demoted the two chiefs to lieutenants and decided to pay them, after all, for the 30-day suspension.

"They turned around and gave them a 30-day vacation and gave them all their money," Clelland said.

The city cut Will and Johnson's pay seven percent, but the union says it's not enough. They want Will's salary cut another $5,000, but doing that involves yet another lengthy arbitration with the city, a mediation that will cost both sides thousands in a time of shrinking budgets.

"What's even more frustrating is we're going to spend thousands of dollars in a legal matter," Clelland said.

The State Attorney's Office is still reviewing the cheating case, but has not yet decided whether criminal charges are warranted.

Channel 9 broke the story in August of last year, following an anonymous letter and audio tapes that suggested Will and Johnson listened over fire department radios to others taking the tactical exam. After an independent investigation, they were suspended 30 days, but by the end of September, the union demanded for a stiffer punishment, and the two were demoted in October.