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Here are some points not specified in the article.

1. In the last contract the city allocated 13,200 sick days to the department based on the current 220 man crew. That's 4400 sick days per year. The line item in the budget that addresses sick time paid out, accounts for approximately 35 sick days per year. When asked about this, Chief McGlaughlin stated "that particular line item only applied to civilian fire personnel and not uniformed fire services". Currently, there is no line item in the budget that accounts for uniformed sick time. How is it tracked? Its not.

2. When the mayor, finance director, chief of staff, and the treasurer were asked how sick time was accounted for, no one could give any answers.

Currently the department has accrued 22,785 days of sick time (62.42 years) that has a net value (liability) of $8.47 million dollars that the taxpayer is obligated to. That number will increase by approximately 50 % due to the new contract specification. That value is not carried anywhere in the budget, yet we are obligated to pay it. How can that be? Incompetency at best.

3. When asked, 5 city council members never read the contract and were unaware of the changes to the "sick bonuses". Most disturbingly was councilman Gallucci when he commented when asked if he read the contract resolution - "why would I waste time reading a contract that I had no part of negotiating". Guess he forgot his obligation to his constituents.

4. The fiscal note attached to the contract resolution was incorrect. The numbers used to calculate the following years bonus was off by $100,000, and the overall budget impact is off almost $600,000. Guess they use an abacus to count with. Had anyone read the documents, they would have seen this. Only one councilmember voted against the contract.

5. Where is the distinguished finance chair Councilwoman Wilkinson? Simple math errors that she didn't catch, didn't read the documents, yet voted to pass the contract. Yet she seeks higher office. What a joke.

RIGL TITLE 45-19-1

The law allows for unlimited sick time for injury of illness contracted on the job. The city contract, in addition to state law, not only allows 20 sick days per year, also allows the chief to allocate additional sick time as he sees fit, and also stipulates that if the man becomes sick due to job duties that the sick day is not taken away off of his accrued time. So virtually no sick days are accounted for. Any cold, sniffle, flu, headache, hangover or whatever, can be attributed to on the job activity and the days are stacked up to be paid by us. It is a coordinated scheme of collusion that has been taking place for years and completely unnecessary.

Further, when asked what the procedure was for an employee to call out sick the response was that the employee contacts the battalion chief and the chief enters the information. When asked to supply the documents that the information was entered to, the response was returned "no documents exist". Who's on first?????

This policy exists for one reason and one reason only. It allows elected officials to pander to the unions to entrench themselves into the community. That is exactly what has happened in Warwick. It is outrageous that our city council is unable to perform simple math and understand the existing law. Is anyone really surprised?