Fire Department can save city millions

To the editor:

I am writing regarding the Review-Journal's Jan. 17 editorial, "Firefighters' labor dispute reaches absurd low."

I would point out that our working relationship with the City Council and the city manager's office appears to be light years ahead of where the relationship stood just a few months ago.

It was in August of last year that city officials made the mistake of offering employees a "gainsharing" bonus while some of those employees were involved in negotiations with the city. It would seem innocuous enough; reward employees for doing a good job. What Las Vegas city officials failed to realize is that making a financial offer outside of negotiations is unlawful. The fact that the city had unilaterally declared an impasse doesn't make it any less unlawful. Las Vegas firefighters' attorneys responded accordingly and filed an unfair labor practices complaint. The complaint is based on the idea that all parties in negotiation must follow the established rules.

Things have changed. Over the past several weeks, city officials have come to realize that firefighters have successfully expanded their emergency medical transports and that those transports have brought some $23.5 million to benefit Las Vegas taxpayers over the past five years. City officials heard from their own consultants that, given Las Vegas firefighters' lifesaving record, the city should consider expanding firefighters' role in emergency transport, which could bring revenue to the city totaling some $20 million each year.

At the same time, the City Council now knows not only that the cost of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue has not increased over the past five years, but that the revenues from transports have actually reduced the net cost to taxpayers over that same period. City officials used to throw around the term "unsustainable" when discussing our budget. There is nothing unsustainable about our costs to taxpayers. We have been successful in actually bringing those costs to taxpayers down.

Las Vegas city officials have also come to realize that, simultaneous with these financial breakthroughs, their firefighters have amassed one of the best lifesaving records in the nation when it comes to treating cardiac arrest. Our record in the city of Las Vegas is 600 percent better than the national average. When it comes to treating cardiac arrest, there is no alternative on the table that saves more lives than Las Vegas firefighters' six-person rapid response teams.

As I say, the environment at City Hall is beginning to improve as city officials learn about the tremendous strides their firefighters have made both in saving lives and in saving taxpayer dollars. The issue of the city's conduct in offering money to members of a bargaining unit will be settled appropriately by the Employee Management Relations Board.

There is a real opportunity on the table, and that is that there are real benefits for citizens that could result in improvements in lifesaving while bringing millions of dollars to benefit taxpayers. The EMRB and the attorneys will get to the bottom of the "gainsharing" issue. Firefighters are focused on helping citizens by expanding firefighter emergency medical transports that will result in more lives saved and lower costs to taxpayers than ever.

SCOTT JOHNSON

LAS VEGAS

The writer is president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1285.