Layoffs ahead in Kalispell

The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 547 is not taking news of impending layoffs in stride.

Facing a budget crunch, the city of Kalispell announced plans Tuesday to lay off seven of its firefighters on May 15.

At an afternoon press conference at the Fire Department’s north station, union Secretary F. Ray Ruffatto called City Manager Jane Howington’s claims that the layoffs are necessary “ridiculous.”

Ruffatto said there are “a lot of options” available for averting the layoffs.

The city and firefighters are scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss the imploding job situation.

“Unfortunately the financial obligations of the city under the terms of the new fire contract cannot be met without a reduction in force in the fire service,” Howington wrote in a letter Tuesday relaying the layoff news to the union.

Howington has said the city must look to layoffs and privatizing the ambulance service to deal with increased costs the city faces under an arbitrator-mandated contract deal.

The layoffs follow a Feb. 22 arbitration ruling that favored firefighters and led to a new three-year contract that Howington says will cost the city an extra $690,000.

Individual firefighters receive approximately $6,000 annual pay increases under the new contract.

 In prepared remarks, Ruffatto said Howington “failed to do her job in the first place during our arbitration. She simply did not make the case to the independent arbitrator.”

Arbitrator James Lundberg noted several times in his decision that the city didn’t make its case and he was forced to side with the firefighters union.

Ruffatto said Kalispell firefighters make less per hour than comparable cities in Montana. Explaining why their annual salaries are higher than those who work typical 40-hour weeks, Ruffato said, “We simply work more hours.”

Kalispell firefighters typically work 2,834 hours a year, which averages out to 54.5 hours per week (see related story).

Ruffatto said the city’s north fire station may be closed if the layoffs go into effect.

He called Howington “some bean counter from Ohio” and encouraged Kalispell residents and businesses to let their City Council members know that they do not pay taxes so Howington can put money in the bank and hold it in reserve.

Howington has said that even though the city has some cash reserves, the city is really only in the black twice a year when it gets taxes. The city currently has some $900,000 in cash reserves, but that is on paper only, Howington said.

Ruffatto said cash reserves are for emergencies and the present situation is an emergency.

The city and union financial representatives met Monday, and Ruffatto said the understanding “gap is smaller” consequently, although he added, “We are still accounting for some of their calculations.”

After Wednesday’s press conference, the firefighters’ union made six of the seven firefighters slated to lose their jobs available for questions.

Benjamin Graham, 34, has been with Kalispell Fire for seven months. He and his wife, Maggie, have two children: Mayah, 3, and Toviah, 1 1/2. Toviah is deaf and has had two cochlear implants. Toviah is working with speech therapists who give him three half-hour sessions per week.

Toviah likely would lose his speech therapists if Benjamin loses his job and health insurance. Maggie Graham said Toviah needs specialized rehabilitation. “He’s just in the first months of adjusting to hearing. He’s very unsettled. I’ve had to push and pull just to get necessary services for him.”

She said they were denied on the first attempt but ultimately successful in getting him therapy. “He’s developed familiarity with these specialists.”

“I’m not just a mom. I’m a therapist,” she said. She doesn’t understand why the city applied for a federal grant that  it used to hire three firefighters, one of whom was her husband, only to turn around seven months later and let them go.

Benjamin Graham grew up in Kalispell and went to Guardian College in Boise, Idaho. He’s currently an emergency medical technician and two months shy of becoming a paramedic. That won’t happen, however, if he is laid off on May 15.

“It’s a hard business to get into,” Benjamin said. “We made huge sacrifices.” 

Getting hired in Kalispell was a six-month process, he said. “I made a career jump to get here,” he said, noting he previously worked as a self-employed finish carpenter for 10 years.

Firefighters Brent Councilor, 26, and Jeremy Grady, 24, each moved from Helena for their jobs with the Kalispell Fire Department. Councilor is married with two children. He is “pretty upset” with the news but is hopeful. “We made friends and found a church that is hard to leave.”

According to Grady, “I’m not going to pack my bags yet.”

Grady is married with an 11-month-old child. “I would like to make it a career [in Kalispell]. That’s what I planned to do.”

Firefighter Jacob Felts, 30, moved from Bozeman. His wife works full time but has no benefits. Felts said he did assorted odd jobs for 2 1/2 years before landing his current position. “It’s been a major leap for us to come up [here] and attempt to start a career.”

The other firefighters scheduled to lose their jobs are Josiah Mooney, Taylor Zachary and Soren Koetter.

These seven are the most junior of the department’s 30 firefighters.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.