Fire costs report aims to spark discussion, change

John Howell
Posted 3/19/15

Ken Block is a numbers man, and he’s been in politics long enough to know the numbers can say different things depending on how they are interpreted.

That’s why he’s not surprised by some of …

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Fire costs report aims to spark discussion, change

Posted

Ken Block is a numbers man, and he’s been in politics long enough to know the numbers can say different things depending on how they are interpreted.

That’s why he’s not surprised by some of the reaction to his latest venture onto the public stage with his analysis of fire protection service in Rhode Island released last week by WatchdogRI.org, a new government reform organization. The rocks started flying as soon as Block started making comparisons between the number of fire stations and apparatus in Rhode Island and the totals for such cities as Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Miami. Some talk show hosts questioned whether he had failed to include county totals into his equations. As the release of the report came a day before fire destroyed Building C of Westgate Condominiums in Warwick, some firefighters at the scene said if officials followed Block’s advice they wouldn’t be there.

Block’s digging goes deeper than the number of apparatus, stations and personnel. He gets into the nitty gritty of contracts and compares municipalities based on clothing reimbursements, sick pay, vacation pay, longevity bonuses and holiday pay. And he gets into pensions, pension costs and unfunded pension liabilities and breaks that all out by community – along with what it costs a family of four.

In addition to the graphs and statistics, the report includes a state map showing the location of fire stations. The viewer can click on each station, which identifies it and brings up the numbers of apparatus housed there, staffing and annual fire and rescue runs.

On a statewide basis, fire protection services are costing Rhode Island $332.5 million, which works out to $315.19 per person annually. This compares to $132.18 for someone in Los Angeles and $223.50 for a New Yorker, the report shows.

But Rhode Island has 1,042 square miles as compared to 469 for Los Angeles and 304 for New York.

Block takes that into consideration. Generally, he found if the western side of the state, which is largely rural and covered by volunteer companies, is excluded, the remaining urban areas make up 480 square miles. That is comparable to Dallas at 340 miles and Phoenix at 517 miles. Viewing costs on this metro basis, the Rhode Island’s cost per capita is $350.84, compared to Phoenix at $210.35 and Dallas at $172.91.

Block won’t identify who, but he says a number of municipal officials, concerned by what they are seeing, have contacted him. It’s what he hoped would happen.

“The point of it all is to get a discussion going,” Block said in an interview Thursday from the office of his company Simpatico Software Systems in Warwick.

The Barrington resident is no stranger to sparking debate. He founded the Moderate Party and led it as its candidate for governor in 2010. Then in 2014, he shed the Moderate label – which former Cool Moose candidate Robert Healey later assumed – to run for governor as a Republican. He lost that bid to Cranston Mayor Allan Fung in a hard-fought campaign.

Now, like the mythical bird the phoenix, he is rising from the ashes of defeat. Block says his new organization could have chosen another issue, such as education, to scrutinize. He picked fire protection because over what happened in Coventry and pensions, it’s timely. He said the study completed by him and five others took 500 hours and involved poring over scores of contracts.

All of the information is accessible on the WatchdogRI.org website.

Perhaps most incendiary of Block’s conclusions issued in a press release is that “Rhode Island operates more individual fire stations and has more apparatus than most metropolitan areas in the U.S.” The report finds the state has 158 fire stations, as compared to Chicago with 92 and Los Angeles with 106. New York City has 255. The report finds Rhode Island has 183 engines compared to 132 in Los Angeles, 98 in Chicago and 198 in New York.

Block points to the town of Lincoln as a case where once-volunteer companies have become paid, yet are considered independent. Lincoln has six fire chiefs with combined salaries of more than $350,000 and nine stations, some within less than a mile of each other.

On the scale of overall compensation for top-step firefighters, Warwick ranks first even though firefighters have not received a raise in the last three years and refused to accept a $1,000 bonus as city employees in the current year. At more than $60,000 in pay, top-step firefighters in Warwick make at least an additional $20,000 in a package of incentive bonuses, clothing reimbursements, sick pay, vacation pay, holiday pay and vacation pay.

Cranston’s top-step firefighters are close behind, giving them the position of second-best overall compensation in the state at a total of more than $80,000.

When it comes to compensation packages and pensions, as well as unfunded pensions, Block says, “This is not a firefighter problem. This is a political problem.” He blames politicians for boosting benefits as a means of avoiding pay increases that wouldn’t sit well with the taxpayers.

As an example, Block turns to a chart on the value of holidays by department. Only Cranston, Johnston and Pawtucket provide 15 paid holidays. Cranston and Smithfield include longevity bonuses in calculating holiday pay. The result is that a year’s worth of holidays in Cranston is worth more than $6,000; in Johnston, it’s almost $4,000. For Warwick, it’s about $3,500.

“The politicians say they can’t afford to give raises,” he said. “It’s no different…they just don’t call it a raise.”

When asked about the report last Thursday, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian said he had not had the time to go through the report, but from his discussions with Fire Chief Edmund Armstrong there was a question whether the unfunded pension liability figure it cited took police into consideration. The plan, which is closed, and which the city is in the midst of a 40-plan to fund, covers both police and fire retirees.

Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur, who brought up firefighter pay during budget discussions, said he is not surprised by some of Block’s findings, although he wants to go through the numbers to ensure accuracy.

He said he deducted the salary costs of department administrators from the payroll account and divided that by the staff to come up with an amount exceeding $70,000 per firefighter without benefits or overtime.

So, what is Block hoping to accomplish?

“Our strategy is to finish telling the story,” he said. “There’s more data to come out.”

As he gets into the issue of pensions and unfunded pension liabilities, Block says Johnston is going to jump out. He said he was “shocked” to come to the conclusion that Providence doesn’t face the biggest problem, but that it’s Johnston and Newport.

Block said he is hopeful the data will be used in developing policy and will spur people to push leaders into bringing responsible change.

“There will be those who would be happy to go on for another 100 years,” he said. “We can’t afford to do that. We can’t afford to have the highest tax status in the country…We’re trying to light the fuse to take the next step.”

Comments

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  • allent

    the unions will be spinning these excessive costs enough the earth will start turning counter-clockwise

    Thursday, March 19, 2015 Report this

  • davebarry109

    Block does not realize how powerfull the firefighters unions are in RI. Any attempt to reign them in will result in a politician being thrown out of office. There are way too many firemen earning way too much overtime. For the last 30 years in Warwick, the fire department has gone over their overtime budget. The Beacon should do a study. They have not had a year wherein they stayed within budget. With minimum manning, they call out and give each other OT. And all of them work a second job because they have a 4 on 4 off schedule.

    Also, I find it ironic that fire fighters at the scene of the recent condo fire criticised Block. THE BUILDING BURNED TO THE GROUND.

    Friday, March 20, 2015 Report this

  • .

    criminal don't like being caught

    Saturday, March 21, 2015 Report this