Allen Park to lay off entire Fire Department

You just cannot make this stuff up!  Allen Park to lay off entire Fire Department.  That’s right the entire department except for the Chief.  Just in case you are wondering, Allen Park is small city just outside of Detroit with a size of 7 square miles.  However, there are 27,000 people packed into that small space!

The best part of the whole story, is city officials do not have a backup plan to provide fire service! For more information on the story, check WXYZ Channel 7 in Detroit.

The average pay for an Allen Park Firefighter is about $55,000 a year without overtime.  There is additional pay for working as a paramedic or an officer in charge. How many calls do they run at of their only station?  About 2,800 calls for help in 2010 with a projection of 3,050 calls this year.

The information above was taken from the Detroit Free Press article, Allen Park fire department still reeling over layoff news

This is not the first time that city officials have used the “layoff” card.  Just last year, 9  Firefighters were laid off.    According to City Administrator Eric Waidelich, an agreement between the city and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1410 was signed that through concessions, the nine firefighters were brought back.  So what did the Allen Park Firefighters give up??? The Fire Department conceded about $800,000 out of its $3.3 million budget, with concessions in effect until June 30, 2011.  The department’s minimum staffing requirement went from seven to six.

Just so everything is out on the table, there has also been a little messing around with the overtime.  After you read this, please tell why $5k is enough for an entire year?  I’m not talking about a $5k limit per firefighter, it’s a $5k limit on the department’s overtime budget for the year!

Overtime canned at Fire Department after it tops $80,000 in one month

The Fire Department will not be allowed to pay overtime for the remaining 11 months of the fiscal year because it already has exceeded its budget. On July 30, the City Council unanimously adopted a resolution that no overtime will be allowed in the Fire Department due to budget constraints. According to the resolution, the allocated amount for Fire Department overtime in the 2010-11 budget was $5,000. In the first month of the fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, the overtime cost was more than $80,000, which equates to 1,600 percent of the budget, the resolution said. Former Fire Chief Mark Hogrebe, grant writer Tammy Jones and two captains took early retirement incentives from the city last month. In addition, a firefighter is on leave for being injured on duty.

There are several major roadways that run thru Allen Park, I-94, I-75, and a short stretch of the Southfield Freeway.

If you have drove I-94 thru Detroit than you most likely have seen a very large tire on the side of the road.  Allen Park is home of the Uniroyal Giant Tire which was constructed by the Uniroyal Tire Company and is the largest non-production tire model ever built. The tire resides on the list of the world’s largest roadside attractions.  The giant tire serves as a symbol of Michigan, and pays homage to the rich automotive heritage of Detroit. The tire is located in Allen Park along the Interstate 94 (I-94) corridor, near Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW).