Council ratifies fire pact

Kalispell City Council unanimously ratified a new firefighter contract on Monday.

The vote was 8-0 with council member Randy Kenyon absent.

Council member Bob Hafferman thanked the firefighters for “coming to the table with solutions” after the city said it would lay off seven firefighters due to a tight budget and an arbitrator’s decision that sided with the firefighters.

Hafferman, who is noted for being a fiscal hawk and has said there are too many city staffers, said the fire department is not overstaffed. There currently are 30 firefighters.

He added that the ambulance service used to be in the red, but has been brought into the black over the past two-plus years through cutting expenses and adding revenue.

City Manager Jane Howington had considered doing away with the city-run ambulance service as a cost-cutting measure.

Council member Jim Atkinson thanked city staffers for holding the line relative to the budget and firefighters for working with the city.

The renegotiated contract allows firefighters to keep pay raises and longevity increases but requires each firefighter to take an unpaid Kelly Day every 28 days. It also does not allow a firefighter to work another’s Kelly Day.