Council rebuffs offer of union concessions

By CRAIG TENBROECK – ctenbroeck@nctimes.com | Wednesday, July 8, 2009 11:01 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE —- The Oceanside City Council declined to put three fire department positions back in the budget Wednesday, despite offers of concessions from two employee unions that would have helped pay for them.

The 3-2 vote left Greg deAvila, president of the Oceanside Firefighters Association, holding his head.

“They voted to weaken the city; that’s really what just happened,” deAvila said.

The Firefighters Association, which represents more than 100 rank-and-file employees, and the Oceanside Fire Management Association, which represents eight division and battalion chiefs, had reached tentative deals with city negotiators to eliminate uniform allowances and reduce holiday time for one year so the positions —- two fire captains and one battalion chief —- could be reinstated.

The council didn’t sign off on the agreements.

The majority —- Jack Feller, Jerry Kern and Rocky Chavez —- said the state could still take millions of dollars in Oceanside revenue to shore up its own shaky finances, and it wouldn’t be wise to rush into anything. They said the concessions would only save money for one year, whereas the city needed ongoing reductions.