The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-03
TO PETITION LEGISLATURE
FIREIEN AND POLICElIEN WANT SALARIES FIXED BY CHARTER.

Incorporated in Amendment to tho
 rter-Commissioners Have En-
 dorsed It-Fearful That Boards May
 Change Salaries at Will.
 The members of the fire and police departments whose salaries are now under the provisions of the city charter. determined and fixed by the board of commissioners of those departments, realizing that those boards are liable to do sudden and unexpected things and fearing that the unexpected thing may be the reduction of their salaries and desiring to so arrange matters that the amounts of the salaries may not be changed at the will of these boards, legislature to so amend the city charter as to fix the salaries and thereby take that power out of the hands of the boards which control the affairs of the departments.
 The firemen have their plan well un- der way but the policeman have as yet no definite arrangement. The policemen also desire besides the regulations of their salaries certain changes in the pension system. It is understood that one of the principal changes desired is the repeal of that portion of the char ter in section 6S which provides that after the pohcemens relief fund amounts to the sum of s5O,0O0 portion of the fees collected on account of liquor licenses shall be no longer paid into that fund but into the city treasury. The charter at present provides that per cent. of the money received for such licenses shall be paid into the po- Iliceman's relief fund until that fund amounts to $50000.
 The firemen have for some time been considering the advisability of petition ing the next genral assembly in regard to the fixing of their salaries and about three weeks ago committee was ap- pointed and held several meetings. A subcommittee was appointed to draw up a petition, the sub committee con- sistlng of J. F. Griffin, stoker No. 2; | William c. Foote recently acting clerk of the department and member Of No. 9s company, and w. F. Spang, captain of Engine Co.,, No. 6.
 | The subcommittee has drawn up a petition which has been already ap- proved by the board of fire commissions CTS and will be presented at the meet ing of the aldermen Monday night If the petition is approved by the court of common council, and it is said that it will receive a favorable reception there, it will then go to the next general as- sembly.
 The petition asks that the co1nmon council approve the proposed amend ment to the charter, whreby it shall be provided that salaries in the fire de- partment be fixed by the legislature and that the corporation counsel be di- rected to appear at the next session of the general assembly to advocate an amendment to section 57 ot the city charter. This amendment it is pro- posed to insert in section 57 after the clause which fixes the salary of the chief at $2,50C, a provision fixing also salaries of other members of the de- partment.
 The salaries proposed to be fixed in
 this amendment are as follows. Fire
 marshal, 1,7O0; superintendent of fire
 alarm telegraph, $1,5OO; assistant super- intendent of the department l.S5O.
 clerk, S1.200 captains, first year S1,1O1;
 second year S1,150 third year S1,2OO;
 lieutenants, first year $950; second year
 $1,000; master mechanic, $1,350; engin-
 eers, first year S1,00O; second year s1,-.
 100; third year $1,200; assistant eng,n- | ger, first year $950; second year S1,00e: l drivers, $950; hosemen and ladder men. 1 first year $S00 second year SS50; third
 year 900.
 i The increase of salaries contemplated
 in the amendment are as follows: Fire
 marshal, $20 per year. Captains now
 receive Sl,OOO per year when first ap-
 pointed and their salaries may Le in-
 creased by the commissioners to $1.-
 200. The amendment provides that
 captains shall receive $1,100 the first year and their salaries be increased $50 each year until they reach S4,20O. The | lieutenants now start in at S9G9 per
 year and their salaries may be increas-
 ed to $1,000 Under the amendment it
 is provided that they shall receive S9s0
 the first year and be increased to s! ,000
 the second year. Engineers now re-
 ceive $1 200, but in the amendment their
 salaries are graded to begin at $1, ,OOO
 per year and be increased si)0 per
 year until the $1,200 limit is reached. Assistant engineers now receive s950 per
 year and the amendment provides tEat they shall receive $1,000 the second year. The amendment contempiates
 raising drivers salaries from S3GI per year to S950. Hosemen and ladder men now receive $750 per year and their salaries may be raised to $S50, being
 raised $50 year. In the amendment it | is provided that they shall re aeive SSf0 the first year, $S50 the second year, and 1 $900 the third, this being 2 raise of $50 per year. It is contended by the firemen that they should receive at least as much as the policemen They
 also say that the department cannot now get sufficient appropriation to war; rant raising hosemen's and ladder
 rant raising hosemens and ladder sS50 and think that the only way they
 can get tha raise of salary is by get ting the legislature to so order and that then the board of finance will be ohlig- ed to recommend a sufficient apprcpri-
 ation. The firemen have engaged ex-