unions ARE STILL dinosaurs  (by: move on  -   3/15/2013)

NOBODY put a gun to your head and made you become a fire fighter. You knew the pay when you were hired... Period. If you dont like your pay, then find a job that that pays better or go get more education. You complain your pay stinks but the only reason you stay on is to collect the pension at the end of your fire fighting career. You will build up your overtime, your vacation and sick and when you retire, you will average out those last precious years of pay to get a bump in your pension. You will work the system because you sit around most of the day figuring out how. I pay enough taxes, budget my life accordingly and when I felt I did not do well enough I increased my education and found another job. Stop whining and complaining. No one is responsible for you other than yourself. The ridiculous bargaining that takes place is nothing more than posturing and trying to get an extra pair of shoes in return for just being you. You have a GUARANTEED rate of return with your pension- even when the economy is in the toilet, whereas the rest of the world that has 401's (if they are lucky) don't. We are subject to the ups and downs of the stock market yet you are assured your 8% be given to you by the residents.. NO ONE around here has that kind of a sure thing but you do and you still complain. No sympathy is given to anyone that has such a deal and acts like they deserve more. Go get a second job like the rest of us that have had to and do your job! Oh- and stop saying that "when my house burns, I will be saved..." That is just yourself esteem screaming for attention.

comon guys  (by: sad day in hell   -   3/15/2013)

"Citizen",
The City Administrator does exactly what the council tells him to, as he recently put it he “is a city administrator not a city manager". Mr. Noethlich does a decent job at suppressing facts and doing as he is told...I can’t blame him for that, he needs his job and judging by the track record this council has so far, they have no problem screwing people out of their jobs. "Tight ship" you say? Can I ask you to define prudence? Go look it the word up and you will find a definition that includes making sound judgments to get the best out of something for the least but not in such a way it sacrifices quality. The City has millions of dollars in their general asset fund which can be used for whatever it finds necessary including funding the mistakes they set in to play years ago rather than screw a few loyal firefighters...fact 1. Paying the firefighters lower pay than any other department in the area will lead to the lowest bidder phenomena, in which you get the worst of the worst working...fact 2. Taking away contractual agreements in an effort to save the City money will ultimately cause one of you readers your lives because some sub-par firefighter will be responsible for your safety...fact 3.
"union are dinosaurs" come on really?...Do you enjoy pay above the minimum wage? Do you enjoy having a minimum wage? Do you enjoy work place safety and standards like OSHA regulations? Do you enjoy the ability to put food on your table?
Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth you can thank folks like the novelist Upton Sinclair and those that were involved in early Union movement that established your right to earn a decent wage in relative safety. We’re dinosaurs? I guess next you’re going to say we don’t need to have guns in our home because we don’t fear the British anymore? Com’on think about what your before you get on the bus that comes back to bite you in your posterior.

Citizen   (by: bAdLeY  -   3/15/2013)

This citizen trust our City Administrator will continue to do his job by protecting all the people in the city. The city runs a tight ship and with fiscal responsibility, please keep it that way. Thank you Mr. Noethlich

unions are dinosaurs  (by: move on  -   3/14/2013)

This back and forth is nothing more than a ploy on the FF's part to extend time so that as many of them as possible can keep their union pension benefits. Just do your jobs and be grateful you are not in the unemployment line.