FROM THE RENO FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION:
The Reno Fire Fighters Association is deeply concerned about the grossly misleading statements that termed-out Councilman Dwight Dortch made on the Nevada NewsMakers program on June 3, 2014.
In bad faith, Dortch selectively took numbers and percentages out of context from an ongoing negotiations process in an attempt to place blame on firefighters for layoffs and for the City’s financial position.
Additionally, we find it very disingenuous that Mr. Dortch would brand contracts that he approved with Goldman Sachs, Nevada Lands LLC and SK Baseball as “manageable” and then turn around and label the contracts with his own employee groups, who have made tremendous concessions, as “unsustainable”.
The Reno Fire Fighters Association was asked three times during the previous years’ negotiations to offer concessions to avoid layoffs and we answered the call three times, permanently giving back more than any employee group in the City. Each time the end result has been layoffs, while Councilman Dortch continues to receive pay raises and gave back next to nothing. Something is amiss.
Councilman Dortch had two years during the temporary SAFER grant relief to show leadership and reprioritize the City budget towards public safety. He has had 12 years to do a ride-along on a fire engine to learn about our profession and to establish a relationship with the Reno Fire Fighters. He has made no such attempts. Instead, he has built a beneficial relationship with the for-profit ambulance company in the area, whom he suggests take the place of his own Firefighter/Paramedic employees.
It is time for change at the Reno City Council.
The Reno Fire Fighters Association welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight on a future edition of the Nevada NewsMakers program.
