On Brookline

I guess it’s no surprise that the Globe’s City Weekly section would be the place where we’d learn of the town administration’s attempt to spread “red flu” (firefighters calling in sick) into the public. Stenography, thy name is City Weekly.

First of all, when you decide that you’re going to fund a budget line item at an amount lower than you need, you’re always going to run a deficit. Year after year, the town administration does not adequately fund the fire department’s sick pay liability. And then they declare a crisis when it gets busted.

Next, what in the hell kind of chief is Peter Skerry? He says that because a firefighter works one 24 hour shift per week, he or she has plenty of time to get sick in the subsequent six days.

Folks in case you’ve missed it, a fire truck is the EMS service in Brookline. We only have two ambulances serving the town (and many times only one). Does Skerry think sending firefighters into a household where people are spewing the flu virus is not going to have some effect on the responders? And given the incubation period, it’s likely to fall on that seventh day.

Do you imagine that the four firefighters who had their faces debrided last week after the Harrison Street fire may be entitled to a sick day?

And that’s the point. Firefighters are entitled to these days; as are teachers, police, and DPW workers. How can you run a deficit on a budget item that has a fixed value? It’s not like the firefighters are taking days they are not entitled to.  Sure, I’ll bet there’s some abuse. But I’ll bet I could find worse cases among the ranks of town hall managers than in any firehouse.

In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s a pretty egregious case of sick and vacation pay abuse in the school department. And now we hear that the top manager involved has quit and is going to get a payout she likely doesn’t deserve.

Remember, town employees can accrue sick days. So the firefighter who is currently off the force due to terminal cancer may be partially responsible for the deficit. I certainly hope the chief “looks into that” and reports back his findings.

There’s a sickness in Brookline town government alright, but I wouldn’t call it red flu.