Friday, July 22, 2011

Orland Fire Protection District posts salary, compensation and benefits listing

Bookmark and Share

Although the Orland Fire Protection District has in the past published the general non-specific overview of employee wages as required by law, the board has directed the posting of the specific details of all employee wages to provide complete transparency for the public.

The posting allows the public to better understand how its taxpayer funds are spent by the OFPD.

Click here for the link to the full wages and compensation document.

Click here for the link to the annual Treasurer's report which lists wages based on "ranges."

Full Press Release from OFPD Board President Jim Hickey:


PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ray Hanania
USGRayHanania@comcast.net
Tuesday July 19, 2011

Orland Fire Protection District releases full wage breakdown for 2010

Orland Park -- The Orland Fire Protection District Tuesday released a comprehensive breakdown of all wages that employees received during the calendar year 2010 as a part of a new effort to provide full public transparency.

OFPD Board President Jim Hickey said the document is intended to educate taxpayers and the public about how their money is spent and allow a better understanding of the economic challenges facing the district.

In releasing the records, Hickey also called on the Village of Orland Park to follow suit and urged the Illinois General Assembly to enact legislation requiring that the full and comprehensive wages of all public employees in all government and public agencies be made public without the requirement of a Freedom of Information Act request.

"The public has an absolute right to know how their money is being spent. Withholding this information, as the Orland Fire Protection District has done in the past, has put the interests of taxpayers of the district at a disadvantage," Hickey said.

"How can the public properly assess what is appropriate spending practices when they have absolutely no idea what salaries their employees receive. Each and every member of the Orland Fire Protection District works for the taxpayers. Not releasing the information has sent an inaccurate message about the district and has fed negative stereotypes and misconceptions about the district."

Hickey said as a board member for only two years under the prior administration, the information was not even made public to board members.

"I am stunned by the numbers myself. I can't imagine how a district board or commission can exercise their fiduciary responsibilities fully without knowing the totality of the wages being paid to our employees," Hickey said.

Hickey said he believes the public will at first react with "sticker shock" at the numbers, but releasing the information will help the district get a better handle on expenses.

"Just after the Orland Fire Protection District has begun a full transparency campaign to release all public records and place them for easy and immediate public access on the district's web site, the City of Chicago did the same releasing, for the first time, a complete list of all monies received by city workers. This is long overdue," Hickey said.

"I hope other government agencies will follow suit and help restore public confidence in our governments and public officials. I urge the Illinois General Assembly to enact legislation mandating that this information be made available publicly every year without hesitation."

Hickey noted that the Village of Orland Park also announced this week plans to post public records on their web site.

"It's something the public has been seeking for a long time. Other municipalities should do the same," Hickey said.

Hickey said he knows employees will be angry that their wages will be made public but he pointed out, "Firefighters are apparently doing very well financially, which is not something we can say about the rest of society. Not releasing the data suggests they had something to hide. I don't agree that they have anything to hide. But I do know this document will help us as we move forward to get a handle on costs and better manage our spending."

Hickey said he has the full support of a majority of the board including Trustees Blair Rhode and Christopher Evoy.

Important Points:
  • ·         Releasing the full wages gives the public a complete understanding of the Fire District
  • ·         In no way is releasing the list of full wages a criticism of the firefighters, although clearly it does show that during the past eight years the union has had more leverage over costs than the needs of the taxpayers
  • ·         I support the unions but believe the district has been too generous; our firefighters are among the highest paid in the state and probably in the region which directly impacts taxpayer costs
  • ·         I think we can provide a high quality of firefighting services to our taxpayers without paying so much. Today's economy demands that we re-asses what we have been doing
  • ·         Chicago, which has a very professional and effective fire department pays far less. Mayor Rahm Emanuel also this week released the complete wages of all of the employees in the City of Chicago including firefighters. I think the village of Orland Park and other government agencies should do the same. A better and fully educated public can be more supportive of public service employees like firefighters.
  • ·         here is what the numbers show. Most workers contribute from their salaries to their own pensions but in the case of the OFPD the taxpayers are almost fully paying the pension contribution .. the firefighters are being paid very well in the OFPD and they can contribute to their own pensions and still do better than most people when they retire. The pension contributions are among the largest added benefit to the firefighters but this is closely followed by overtime costs which are too high and must be curbed

"We need to do a better job of representing the interests of the taxpayers when we negotiate with the unions in the future. The past administration was too generous and that's because the public was unaware of what they were being forced to pay. At least the taxpayers should have a voice in what wages should be in the future ," Hickey said.

This circumstance is like a company which doesn't even know what they are paying their employees, Hickey argued. The company and owners in this case are the taxpayers. This cannot continue.

Hickey said the wages will be published every year moving forward. (In the past, the wages were partially published in "wage groups." The OFPD published a list of employees based in a grouping of wage ranges, but the listing did not identify benefits which are also paid completely by the District.)

end

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Southtown/Star news report on OFPD wages and insurance costs

Bookmark and Share

The Southtown/Star this morning ran a story on the Orland Fire Protection District's wages including a discussion on the costs of insurance. Click HERE to view the story.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

WBBM News report on neighbors helping to alert homeowners of fire

Bookmark and Share

News report by WBBM AM Radio on neighbors who alerted a homeowner of a fire.

Click here to read and listen to the report.

Click here to read the former news report.

Chicago Tribune looks at all sides of wage debate

Bookmark and Share

The Chicago Tribune has a frontpage story this morning that explores the issue of wages for the Orland Fire Protection District. The story is based on the release of last year's full wage accounting, a document that is expected to be posted online later this week.

The story addresses comparisons between the OFPD and other districts, and has the pros and cons of the wage rates reflected in a wide range of comments.

The release of the wage document for calendar year 2010 is the result of the new board's decision to make all public documents actually available to the public, including contracts and important board policy decisions, documents that in the past have remained secret and unavailable to the public.

The Village of Orland Park also announced this week plans to publish their complete wage document for all employees including basic pay, overtime and all compensation. The release of this information is considered public information and should be released to insure that the public has an accurate understanding of how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.

Here are the links to stories:

Tribune story Wed July 20, 2011

Tribune graphic July 20

Orland Park Patch story

Southtown/Star story on Village of Orland Park plans for transparency by next month

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Alert neighbors and quick fire response helped save family in fire this morning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ray Hanania
TUESDAY JULY 5, 2011
USGRayHanania@comcast.net

Alert neighbors and quick fire response helped save family in fire this morning

Orland Park -- Alert neighbors and a fast response from the Orland Fire Protection District played major roles in saving the lives of a family and preventing further damage to a home where a fire broke out very early this morning.

Acting Fire Chief Raymond L. Kay credited the neighbors and the Fire District response with keeping the fire damage to a minimum and savings lives. Orland Park police were also fast on the scene alerting the homeowners and family.

Chief Kay said the family of seven including three young children were asleep when the fire broke out in the home's attached a garage area around 1:16 AM. The first fire truck arrived at the scene at the corner of Clearview and Terry Drive at 1:19 AM. Firefighters discovered the two car garage in heavy fire.

Firefighters quickly contained the fire preventing it from expanding into the living areas, Chief Kay said.

"The owners, who were asleep, were alerted to the fire by neighbors  pounding on the front door," Chief Kay said.

"It was 1:15 in the morning and the residents were sleeping. Fortunately, the neighbors saw this. Had the neighbors not responded and had this fire gone unchecked, it would have gotten in to the living area of the house. I think our quick response and the role of the neighbors and the police were clearly instrumental in saving those lives."

Kay said none of the occupants, including four adults and three children, were injured.

He said that the investigation has not identified a cause but he could not rule out the fire being started by any fireworks from the 4th of July celebrations that evening.

"The construction features of the home prevented smoke and fire from entering the living areas and that's just a reminder about how important these features are to protecting lives," Chief Kay said.

The quick response of multiple Orland FPD fire, police and EMS companies provided for simultaneous search and rescue, fire extinguishment and fire extension operations, Chief Kay explained. These simultaneous actions prevent the loss of life and the protection of property.

"These actions proved to be vital," Chief Kay added.

# # #

For first time in history, OFPD posts detailed budget documents

For the first time int he history of the Orland Fire Protection District, detailed budget documents along with contracts, are being posted online for public viewing. In the past, the OFPD Posted a Budget Summary, or annual report offering general overviews of budget issues and spending. But last month, the OFPD board President Jim Hickey directed that the detailed Audit of the last full budget year be published online. The Audit provides a detailed look in to the district's spending and is issued usually in the Spring following the completion of the prior year.

Click here to view the budget audit.

Hickey and members of the board has promised that all public documents will be placed on the OFPD web site for easy public viewing.

"The public has a right to know exactly what the district is doing," said President Hickey.

Hickey's directive is endorsed by two new board members, Blair Rhode and Christopher Evoy.

"I think it is very important for the public to know exactly how their tax dollars are being spent so they have an accurate understanding about the district," Rhode said.

The OFPD budget office is also working on converting the annual budget for placement on the web site. That should be completed this month.

For more information on public information, visit www.OrlandFire.org

# # #

Friday, July 1, 2011

OFPD Board trims nearly $500,000 in spending during first 60 days

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Ray Hanania
June 30, 2011                                                                                                     USGRayHanania@comcast.net

OFPD Board trims nearly $500,000 in spending during first 60 days

Orland Park -- The Orland Fire Protection Board cut $486,000 in district spending during its first 60 days in office, moving to realize promises made by the new board that the quality of fire district services will remain high but costs will be trimmed where possible.

OFPD Board President Jim Hickey said that the cost-cutting moves are mandated by the taxpayers and voters and that the cuts will not impact the quality of Fire District services that residents have come to expect.

Hickey said he expects that number to easily double in the next few months and to continue to climb as opportunities to save taxpayer dollars are identified.

"What we are doing is carefully managing spending and cutting where we can without impacting firefighting or emergency medical services," Hickey said.

"Even where we have spent extra money to hire a lobbyist in Springfield to insure that our funding interests are protected and to identify potential grants and monetary sources, we have off-set those costs with other cuts."

Hickey said that the OFPD will continue to update its cost savings using the web site at www.OrlandFire.org and the district's new blog at OFPDblog.blogspot.com.

"We are also using the website and internet to provide public access to board meetings and also to post important documents such as recent contracts, public policy statements and soon a complete and detailed copy of the district budget.

Hickey released the following data on savings by cost and date which is posted on the OFPD Blog Web Site:

- June 28, 2011: OFPD Board votes to retire two bond issues, one set to expire in 2016. Retiring the bonds early will save taxpayers $110,000 in interest payments on the bonds. Expected to be implemented at next board meeting.
Potential Savings: $110,000
- Not filling the vacant position of Battalion Chief.
Savings $215,000
- Reducing board meetings to one per month.
Savings $60,000
- June 2011: Change in the wages of the Human Resources Director from $73,000 to $68,000. 
Savings $5,000.
- June 2011: Elimination of the Public Education director, salaried at $47,000. 
Savings $47,000.
- June 2011: Reduction in the salary of the Executive Secretary to the board, salaried at $65,000 reduced to $37,000.
Savings of $28,000.
-June 2011: Reduction in the consulting fee for communications, previously $48,000 reduced to $36,000 for Urban Strategies Group. 
Savings of $12,000.
-June 2011: Hiring lobbyist Cheryl Axley to monitor OFPD Interests and grant opportunities in Springfield.
Cost $60,000
- May 25, 2011: hiring Del Galdo Law Group.
Savings $48,000
- May 25, 2011: Two trustees (Blair Rhode, Chris Evoy) declining their trustee salaries.
Savings $6,000
- May 25, 2011: Hiring Cindy Katsenes ($25,000) replacing Tom Dubelbeis ($40,000).
Savings $15,000
"Some people may think $486,000 is not enough but I think that if we can do this in 60 days, tighter controls on spending and better management of the district will realize more savings to the taxpayers and still result in a high quality services from our fire protection district," Hickey said.

END