Fire hires planned despite challenge
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published July 30, 2008

City officials are moving ahead with plans to add additional members for the city fire department even though a citizens safety group still plans to challenge a staffing level set earlier this year by the administration.

Officials said they have begun the process to hire one and probably two firefighters — including an all-shifts floater — within the next few months. One definite hire will be to replace 16-year veteran Matt Linder, who died unexpectedly from a heart attack at his home July 16, Mayor Debbie Sutherland said.

“We’re all still upset by what happened with Matt,” Sutherland said. “It was a tragic event and we’re going to miss him terribly. We’re going to have to replace him as quickly as possible, so we’re moving forward with the process.”

Sutherland said her administration’s current plans are to move forward on the issue of hiring a second firefighter or floater, who could be used on different shifts depending on the needs of the department. City Council recently approved legislation increasing the department’s manpower by one, which would allow for hiring a floater.

City officials have proposed the floater as a way of reducing department overtime costs, which prompted Sutherland’s controversial move to reduce the department’s minimum staffing level for a shift from six to five men when a firefighter calls off. Both the city firefighters union and the Bay Citizens for Safety Group have actively opposed the move and has been working on getting an issue about minimum manning levels on the November ballot.

Martin Mace, the Bay firefighter who serves as a spokesman for the citizens group, still believes that its initiative will go on the November ballot even though Cuyahoga County Board of Elections officials have told Bay Law Director Gary Ebert there are no current plans to place it on the ballot.

“We believe we will prevail at the Board of Elections,” said Mace, who said the group had spoken to the Board of Elections and will take it up at a BOE meeting.

Mace said the group followed city rules in setting up its proposal for the November ballot.

“In response to staffing reductions at the fire department, the Bay Citizens for Safety have submitted an initiative ordinance to the city of Bay Village,” Mace said in a statement. “By following the rules set by the City Charter and having exceeded those requirements, residents have the right to decide the amount of  fire and paramedic coverage they will have. Currently, Mayor Sutherland is trying to keep this initiative from reaching the ballot.”

In speaking to the elections board, Ebert sent a letter saying the initiative petitions incorrectly stated that Bay Village citizens had already voted upon a proposal. He said this effectively invalidates the petitions, which would cause them to have to be redone to get them to the board and approved by the Aug. 21 deadline for placement for the fall ballot.

Mace said Ebert’s appeal is all part of the process.

“Bay Village taxpayers employ Gary Ebert as their law director, paying both his salary and billable hours,” Mace said. “Apparently his duties include stopping initiative petitions like this one. It is unfortunate that the mayor and the city council in Bay Village are spending this much time and money preventing voters from being heard.

“Every petition submitted to the city faces legal games, and this response, though wasteful and inappropriate was expected. We look forward to prevailing in this challenge and having the issue appear on the ballot in November.”

Ebert said that he has no outside billable hours or outside legal counsel pertaining to his dealing with the ballot issue.

“It’s all covered by my salary,” Ebert said.

He also reiterated that the only way the proposal will get on the ballot is either via the city approving placing it on the ballot or a writ of mandamus legal challenge, meaning a court order is needed to get it on the November ballot.

Sutherland said Fire Chief Jim Sammon has begun the process of seeking qualified candidates.

Sammon said they already have an approved list of candidates and that he will be reviewing these candidates.

“I’ve asked the city police detectives to begin the process of  checking their backgrounds and information, which is standard procedure,” Sammon said.

He said the firefighter hired to replace Linder will be placed on a regular shift, with the second hire going to the floater position.

With the fire department anticipating several retirements in the next few years, the floater position will provide a ready source of firefighters who are trained and ready to go to regular shifts, Sutherland said.

“As they move into regular shifts, we’ll hire a new floater to replace the one moving up,” she said.