After Mayor Glenn Cunningham announced that he had resolved one labor dispute at the City Council meeting Wednesday, he was quickly put on the defensive when it came to another, as anxious would-be firefighters crowded the chambers hoping for concrete answers.
Cunningham entered the meeting with “good news” when he told the council that the city had reached a settlement with the 175 non-union city managers that have not received a raise in over three years. Michael Sottolano, the assistant director of information technology, ceremoniously signed the legal agreement at the meeting that provides guaranteed percentage-based raises for the next five years.
“It was evident right away that the policy was going to be fair play,” said Sottolano, who represented the city managers before the council since the administration took office in July 2001. “I’m delighted to say that’s what the case turned out to be.”
But fair play was hardly present for the next episode, when Ward D Councilman William Gaughan and Cunningham sparred over the decision to hire new firefighters.
The issue has become somewhat of a political landmine for Cunningham as he faces political opposition from seven out of nine council people due to his county battle with Rep. Robert Menendez (D-13th Dist.). Councilman Gaughan, who supports Menendez, had amended the city’s $351 million budget to provide an additional $200,000 for Fire Department salaries. He added that more money would be available because of the firefighters retiring.
Unable to commit to a specific time period, Cunningham walked a tight rope as he assured the council and the public that hiring new firefighters was on the administration’s agenda.
“We’re close to completing a new firehouse,” Cunningham said. “And when you get a new firehouse, you need new firefighters.” Cunningham said he was committed to hiring new firefighters this year, but refrained from promising to do so by the end of this fiscal year in June. Instead, he said the administration would petition state authorities to extend the three-year waiting list for the Fire Department one more year.
Cunningham also promised that Jersey City’s first female firefighter would be hired this year. Currently, two women are on the waiting list. Constance Zapella and Maureen Nally passed the test in 1999 and have been anxiously awaiting an opening in the department. If Cunningham keeps his promise, he would have to hire 24 firefighters to reach Zapella, the first female on the list.
Gaughan repeatedly said that the money was available to make those hires today. “It was our expectation to hire the firefighter in this budget year,” Gaughan said. “We put the money in place. You make the decisions.”
Cunningham responded to this criticism by highlighting the actual cost of hiring 50 firefighters, listing additional considerations, such as the cost of benefits, retirement packages for those firefighters leaving, and being able to afford the salaries next year. “We need $1.5 million to hire new [50] firefighters,” Cunningham said. “As mayor of Jersey City, I have to worry about paying for them next year. I have to be a long-range manager.”
Since the new administration came into office last summer, the Fire Department has routinely asked for 50 more firefighters on the force, citing a shortage of manpower and sudden attrition as 25 firefighters prepare to retire this year. Because Jersey City is a state-designated Distressed City, all new hires must be approved by the state Department of Community Affairs.
Before the City Council passed the municipal budget, it managed to reallocate funds within the Fire Department so an additional $200,000 appeared in the line for wages. The Council asked the administration to make use of this extra money by requesting waivers from the DCA to hire 50 more firefighters. The $200,000 would be able to pay for those salaries until the end of this fiscal year at the end of June.
Fire Department Director Jerome Cala reported that the city had been actively negotiating with the DCA for the ability to hire new firefighters. Before the city could request the necessary waivers to hire them, Cala said, the DCA has asked to see some organizational changes in the department.
Cunningham added that the administration would not have been in this situation if former mayor Bret Schundler’s administration would have hired some firefighters in the past few years, and linked Gaughan with that administration.
As Gaughan placed his hands behind his head and stretched back in his chair, he said, “I’m glad Mayor Cunningham brought back Jerry Cala as the Fire Director. He was the Fire Director under Schundler.”
When the bickering ended, Council President L. Harvey Smith called for a recess, prompting dozens of prospective firefighters to circle Cunningham and try to obtain more specifics.
Smith walked to the back of the chambers, where he greeted the two women waiting to be recruited by Jersey City’s bravest. When asked by Zappella how anything could get accomplished with the government fighting, Smith said, “I got bite marks on my tongue I can show you. Unfortunately, at this time we’re in turbulent political waters.”
Moments later, Cunningham personally assured Zappella that she would be hired within the year.
“It’s such false hopes,” Zappella said. “When I see something in writing, I’ll be happy.”