Firefighters
 

I am very disturbed by the opposition to pay increases to the firefighters. People see nothing wrong with paying some fool who can throw a ball around millions of dollars but do not want to pay someone who may save their life.
How much money do you waste on designer items or tickets to sporting events or even expensive cars but you refuse to pay a few more dollars to pay the first responders? The people who come day and night when you have a medical emergency or are in an accident, or set your house on fire or have to respond to a shooting or bombing. Really people?

I totally agree ..

I agree, but....what are your plans for correcting this AND who are you angry at? I didn't buy luxury items instead of paying more money to the firefighters.

I am angry at the people who are opposed to increasing their wages to a decent level and who do not appreciate the sacrifices they make. People think all they do is put out fires and do not fully understand how hard the job really is.

First question still unanswered: what are you going to do about it?

Second question, part two: who are tbe people who are opposed to increasing wages and who are tbe people who don't appreciate their sacrifices?

We are on the same side. I just think ranting ugliness on TOTV does NOTHNG to correct the situation.

The Union President has asked Villagers to show up at Lake Miona on March 7 @10 AM in the Reliance Room. There's a meeting about the raises

Thanks. Will be there. How would we know this if you hadn't informed us?

I believe it was the other online news there was an article in there.

Yes skip0358, thank you for bringing it up. I hope that people will go and show their support.

[QUOTE=Villager Joyce;1365660]First question still unanswered: what are you going to do about it?

Second question, part two: who are tbe people who are opposed to increasing wages and who are tbe people who don't appreciate their sacrifices?

We are on the same side. I just think ranting ugliness on TOTV does NOTHNG to correct the situation.[/QUOTE]

Well SAID Joyce. As usual!!


I am guessing this poster is a fire fighter???

Sir/Madam. Just so you will know, I am tight as a drum but I always vote for EMS and first responders and school levies. Don't say stuff like that to us. We are nice people.

This is something that I will be hammered for and to be honest, there is no amount I wouldn't pay a firefighter or any other life saver up until I can't do it.

The OP brought up something about ballplayers and millions of dollars. In 1525 they would be court jesters, but they found a way.

So I ask. What is the $ amount to pay them? Everyone will say give them as much as possible, but what is possible? I don't know how to ask the question? No one here will say 'pay them a million dollars' then actually put their taxes at 80% of their take home income. What is the right number?

And again, just playing devil's advocate (I know, bad). Heck, I don't know what they make, in NYC they start at 40K and in 5 years got to 100K.

What is the increase they want?

And please don't hammer me for asking the question that many are thinking.

The National median annual Fire Fighter salary is $44,573, as of January 30, 2017, with a range usually between $33,430-$55,717.

They hope to see starting pay for EMTs raised to $40,000 from $33,600 per year. The firefighters would also like to see the starting salary for a paramedic increased to $50,000 and a starting lieutenant’s pay raised to $57,500.

I don't know about any of you but I made more money that this sitting in front of a computer so I do not think it is a lot for someone who does what they do.

What would you suggest . Grace

The salaries paid to firefighters, police, teachers, the military and others that provide a great public service....have always been ridiculously low in my opinion.

The problem of course, is that wages are pretty much driven by what it takes...to get qualified people to fill those positions.

Comparing professional athletes and entertainers, with these jobs...just isn't realistic.

Team owners don't want to pay any more than they need to either, but will do it based on what they think they have to shell out to fill the seats.

And therein lies the big problem.

Athletes/entertainers are paid on what they can make their owners (ROI), whereas dedicated public servants are considered a 'necessary evil'...by those who want their taxes to stay low.

Is it fair that most plumbers make more than a cop or firefighter?

Not in my book...but yet they do. :shrug:

I feel that being of a certain age where I have a good chance that I will someday need their services I would want to have the best trained and most qualified people doing the job.

They rode such a wave of gratitude after 911 and then people just promptly moved on and forgot. People think that things like that can't happen in TV but that is being very naive. We very nearly had a school shooting here.

Would just like to say in checking my Fire Tax on the Tax Bill they're very cheap here. I served in a Volunteer Department up North for 42 years and my taxes were almost 10 times higher then here. I do believe they deserve a raise in both salary & pension. JMO I know I'm going to get some backlash but so be it. Loosing trained Fire & EMS personnel is not good.

I dunno Tom.

By the way, Glad to meet you. Are you new here to The Villages, or just to this forum? I see that you are 36 so I am guessing you are a firefighter or EMS. Thank you very much for your service.

In answer to your question, I will wait and see what happens and then decide. As I stated earlier, in my lifetime, I have voted heavily for School Levies and for fair wages for Fire Fighters and EMS.

I am also tight as a drum in my personal use of money. I guess you would call me a fiscal conservative, or careful, VERY careful, with money.

I think that public servants deserve a good income. However comparing the salaries and benefits of a Villages' firefighter to the national average is wrong. The comparison needs to be made to a person in a similar sized community with similar risk pattern.

A firefighter in NYC is tasked with a much more dangerous job. High rise old buildings, freezing weather, shootings, toxic chemicals, heavy industry and a much higher cost of living. The overwhelming majority of buildings here are single story, no basements into which a structure might collapse, a cooperative citizenry, modern buildings up to code, no realistic expectation of getting shot at or dealing with daily exposures to HIV, Hepatitis B, TB, heroin overdoses and the other common events in a big city. How many fires does the Villages experience in a year? Very few. I suspect most Villages' firefighters don't average one significant fire run a year. Could be wrong.

It is important that our emergency services be competent and compassionate but in all honesty the intensity of services required here is lower than most other places and there really is nothing wrong with younger professionals gaining experience in this low intensity environment then if they wish moving on to more challenging professional environments with appropriately higher benefits. There is a problem if our safety personnel are going from our situation to a similar situation and getting better pay and benefits. I don't know if that is in fact happening.

I would say the majority of the calls here are for medical and accidents but that does not mean we should be ok with a newbie. This is the difference between living and dying. Do you want to be practice for a trainee?

To add another perspective the 33000 salary of the EMTs is 15.00 an hour which is the amount people are fighting to get established as minimum wage.

Let's see. Flipping a burger, or saving a life !!!!!

L I K E.

My husband is a retired firefighter with 33 years on the job.
They see some awful stuff in their line of work, as do police officers.

People have no idea. They think they just sit around and wait for fires. Pulling people out of car wrecks is brutal, especially children.

You underestimate the group of us. Many are in their seventies and older and we have seen a LOT of LIFE. You are singin' to the choir, kiddo. We are on your side. BUT........

I believe to sell anything you should never criticize, condemn or complain.

There has been some good information represented on this thread, particularly about national comparisons and state comparisons for pay. It is true that nothing can compensate for the brave and hard things you do.

What do you think is a fair salary?

I am not criticizing the people who agree with this, I am criticizing the ones who think that just because we are in the Villages and do not have a lot of fires we do not need experienced first responders. I think what they are asking for is not unreasonable 40000 a year is only 19.00 an hour and 57000 is only 27.00 an hour. If I am in an accident or have a medical emergency I want highly experienced people tending to me not people who are doing it for the first time while they learn.

You can learn a lot about the department from the reports on their website:
Village Community Development Districts

Excellent suggestion.

I lived in NJ, 90% of NJ fire depts are vol. , in the depts I belonged to we had icons on industry as members Wiechert Realty and Mennen ( yes the under arm people) as members--it was all about comaderie & community service.

I would consider that comparing apples to oranges.

Lets be fair, minimum wage jobs don't pay a guy wages while he sleeps, shops, or joy rides around in expensive equipment.

Who is good at math on here??

EMTs raised to $40,000 from $33,600 per year...is 20% increase! That is an awfully big increase compared to the
Forbes forecasted "cost of living adjustment" of 3% for 2017. (COLA for 2016 was zilch)


The firefighters would also like to see the starting salary for a paramedic increased to $50,000 and a starting lieutenant’s pay raised to $57,500...What are the current salaries for these positions?

They are frequently woken up in the middle of the night which wreaks havoc with on their systems. The only shopping that I know of is to a fast food place or supermarket to buy food. Joy rides were to check hydrants or smoke alarms or service calls. They also work weekends and holidays. My husband is a retired FF so I know that this is misinformation.

If you lived on a salary of 33000 a year it was many years ago and probably did not involve life or death situations. Personally I made much more than this to sit in front of a computer.

I haven't seen any information on what the impact on us would be if the raises would be put into effect. Has there been any information on what the total amount of an increase would be for The Villages? At 50,000 homes would an increease of $10.00 or $20.00 per house per year cover it? Seems like a small amount of money per household considering how valuable these folks are to our lives.

A solution to the havoc wreaked on their system would be to abolish the current practice of working 24 on and 48 off. They could go to 3 shifts, and therefore nobody is getting paid while they sleep and nobody is being woke up.

You must have FORGOT about the joy rides to Home Depot, Walmart, and similar places. I have personally witnessed them park the fire truck (the piece of expensive equipment that has a long lead time if it is damaged in an accident) in the parking lot and wander around the store wasting time. Go ahead and claim they are there on official business, and that is why they are looking at car washing supplies...

People in retail, utilities, and others work weekends and holidays...they would love a 20% pay increase too!

When my salary was $33K a year I was not getting paid to sleep, shop, joy ride in expensive equipment, nor sit in front of a computer.

20% pay increase in one year is a ridiculous amount to ask for!

I think the concern or dialog should also include the legacy costs as it should with all public sector employee salaries. The Villages is one of the richest communities in the US where many cities and states are cutting back on services and infrastructure spending because of promises made to public sector employees they are struggling to meet. The public sector often pays retirement benefits for 30 to 40 years or more. What is the real cost of a $10,000 increase in salary.

It would be a waste of time to argue with you. I can just hope that other people will know better.

Apparently you have not seen the discussion on spending $3.00 per rooftop to increase safety on the MMPs. Look it up. You would be surprised how our residents oppose increases.

I think we have all agreed that safety personnel deserves an increase. I've seen in the posts where the increase would be from 33k to 40k per year. I suspect this increase is being pushed by the Union. (Are The Villages firefighters even unionized?) This increase will not happen, but what is reasonable? How are the wages of The Villages compared to the surrounding communities? What will it take to catch them up or make The Villages highest paid department in the area? These are the questions I would like to see answered.

Those two statements don't click together in your mind? My small town volunteer company washed the trucks whenever they were used. At least once a week.

Beside which, their most recent report (2013) indicates nearly 15,000 calls. Roughly 150 fire related. 9,000 medical related. 3,800 service calls. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of calls is now over 20,000 per year. Add in training time and I can guarantee you that they are busy. Read the reports.

:BigApplause: It would be! And most do know better.

dirtbaggers that don't know what they are talking about should keep quiet.

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!!!!!!!! I volunteered in Pennsylvania for 26 years and it takes dedication of ones self and their family.:clap2:

$33K, is a joke--there are lots of retired firefighter and police who live in the villages, if they made what the villages fire fighters are paid, they would not be living here--NYC pensions are based on ONE high year--6 figure pensions are common place-- the only difference is living where public unions have clout.

NJ teachers and administrators make double or triple what their counterparts in Fl--again--public unions

People should be paid what they are worth-not for the leverage their unions have--A fire fighter or policer who puts their lives on the line deserves much better pay

than a roofer or a landscaper

Having been a member of a volunteer FD who lost a member whose real job was a professional firefighter--no one should deny any firefighter a raise & @40K --its still not enough