To the Editor:

Here we are, a new year, but the same lingering mess here in Ogdensburg, with certainly more to come. Pretty much every important relationship the City has, has been damaged; through insults, threats, lies, and finger pointing.

Case in point, the Ogdensburg firefighters union. How can they possibly trust anything put forward by this administration? Their legally binding contract has been openly disregarded, and their safety seriously compromised, while shamelessly projecting blame on them.

A majority city councilor recently posted on Facebook, in reference to providing adequate fire protection, “let’s have a good conversation.” And he asked, “What is the best solution?” The best solution came from conversations during contract negotiations in 2019. A total of six meetings took place, to reach agreement on eliminating four positions, bringing the total down to 24 firefighters. Having at least five on duty, has been in the contract since 2013, and was carried forward, as it was mutually agreed to be a safe and effective minimum.

But this council majority decided to violate that agreement, and wants the union to come up with a new solution, which is definitely not how collective bargaining works. Two of the majority councilors have worked for the City in the past. Both were in a bargaining unit that came to a contractual agreement, through negotiations. Did they believe then that the City could just arbitrarily decide to disregard their contract? And, as if enough damage hasn’t been done to public safety, the city manager unilaterally decided that as of January 9, the fire department will operate with a minimum of three firefighters on duty.

No legitimate, safety-conscious Fire Chief would even consider running with a three, or even four, firefighter minimum, with no backup close by. Especially in a city with structures so close together. This thoughtless and dangerous change came in an email, with the line, “as approved by the Fire Chief,” with no garnered feedback or direction on how to operate.

As a reminder, the city manager has never been officially or provisionally appointed to the civil service position of Fire Chief. He told the media, about running with three, “The department will not send manpower inside unless it has at least 4 people on scene.” So the three will essentially watch the fire grow, until help arrives. But to try to ease legitimate concerns about responding with three, he said, if there’s life at risk, two can still enter.

They can, but once they do, their lives are now at increased risk, because there’s no backup outside if they get in trouble. With only three firefighters responding initially, and a total of only 16 on the department, safety and effectiveness is now seriously compromised. And with only 16, what if even a small number of members test positive for Covid, are out with an injury or illness, or are simply unavailable to respond?

The city manager is clearly jeopardizing the safety of citizens and firefighters, and is now using it as leverage to get a deal with the firefighters union. He wants them to give up hazard pay, so he can add personnel, but adding personnel, in itself, ends hazard pay. For the record, the hazard pay clause has been in the contract since 2008, but none was ever paid out, before this city manager’s unsafe staffing cuts. To close, Watertown’s Fire Chief just asked their city council to apply for the SAFER Grant, to fund either “four, five, or seven new firefighters” (they have a minimum of 15 on duty). The application period closes on February 4. What do you suppose will happen here?

The Ogdensburg Fire Department has been severely disabled, by an unqualified city manager, who doesn’t care enough to live here, and who simply gave himself the title of fire chief. Time will tell how serious the consequences will be.

Ron Bouchard
Ogdensburg