Firefighters in Pittsburgh-plank-Peduto

==Links==
===Media===
* Peduto seeks reopening of firefighters' contract Tribune-Review from December 2006
==Details==
* Pittsburgh should reopen its contract with firefighters by the end of the year (2006) to look for ways to trim costs, City Councilman William Peduto said in early Decmeber, 2006.
* William Peduto said the city could save millions of dollars by trimming overtime costs, addressing minimum staff requirements or boosting the hours each firefighter could work weekly, among other moves.
* William Peduto said Act 47 -- the state law under which Pittsburgh was declared financially distressed in 2003 -- would protect the city from having to spend more money as a result of renegotiating the contract.
* "We need to find additional earnings out of this budget," said William Peduto, who has attacked Ravenstahl's proposed 2007 budget for relying on what he calls "phantom revenues."
* "The other option is, we do nothing and we go back in deficit spending by 2008."
==Insights==
 Others were less sure that reopening the contract offers sure savings.
Fire Chief Michael Huss called the move risky, because it could force city officials to pay for the findings of a 2004 Erase Enterprises study, which suggested closing 13 fire stations, building three new ones and altering station staffing. "It could actually end up costing us money," Huss said.
Joshua Bloom, an attorney for the firefighters union, questioned how much the city could save by trying to make cuts in the fire department. "I don't know what else they could legitimately cut and maintain fire safety," Bloom said. "They've already cut down so low. ... I don't know how much more they want out of these guys."
==Links==
* William Peduto
* Firefighters in Pittsburgh
category:Planks_from_elsewhere