A Connecticut mayor has turned down a SAFER grant to hire firefighters saying the city can't afford the benefits and pensions.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said that he rejected a $2.1 million federal grant to hire 14 firefighters because the "legacy" costs under the fire department's old contract would be too expensive, according to The News-Times.
The mayor told reporters hiring new firefighters would cost millions of dollars that city taxpayers could not afford.
Some claim rejecting the grant was the city's way of retaliating against the firefighters' union for failing recently to ratify the new contract.
"Obviously it's retaliation for not accepting the contract," said former mayoral candidate Lynn Taborsak, Boughton's opponent in the November 2011 election. "This grant would have been a great benefit to the city. What a shame."
Boughton denied claims Friday that turning down the grant was retaliation, noting that, "We were very clear to the potential hirees that we had to have an agreement in place.
"There is no way we can bring in 14 firefighters under the old contract," Boughton told the paper. "It's disappointing because we really worked hard on the grant, but it's just not fiscally responsible at this time. At the end of the day, this is about looking out for the city's long-term economic future."
The mayor added that he was clear throughout the negotiations with the union that an agreement "had to happen" to accept the grant.
Union President Lou DeMici said it was unfortunate the issue was tied to the negotiations.
Fire Chief Geoff Herald said that while he would love to have the new firefighters on board, "I have to deal with the reality and the fiscal restraints the city is under. I am both a taxpayer and the fire chief."
Herald added that the department is fully staffed in that it can continue to have 25 people on each shift, but there is some overtime generated when firefighters are out on sick leave or vacation.
"We are not having problems meeting our staffing requirements," he said. "The city is safe."
