County ends probe; no more firefighters to be fired

By Joe Schoenmann

Friday, Aug. 5, 2011 | 1:50 p.m.

The Clark County Fire Department is done investigating a group of firefighters suspected of abusing sick leave. Of those, two have been fired. Fewer than a dozen more were disciplined. The county said no one else will be fired and, citing personnel confidentiality rules, would not release the number of those disciplined, their names nor the kind of discipline meted out.

Meanwhile, sources said, the FBI continues to sift through 2 million emails among firefighters as it investigates potential sick-leave abuse — with some assistance from Metro Police.

County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who for more than a year has criticized firefighter use of sick leave, said the discipline strengthens his conviction that abuse is a serious Fire Department problem. That’s not just because the discipline resulted from the examination of a relatively small number of firefighters — a county spokesman said 14 firefighters plus “a handful more” were investigated — but also because sick leave has fallen greatly since the county began to scrutinize it closely in February.

“The fact that sick leave has fallen so much is a testament to the fact that it is an enormous problem,” Sisolak said Friday. “It’s no coincidence that people just happen to be healthier in 2011 than 2010. Obviously, they got the message.”

From early February through the end of June, firefighters called in sick 32 percent less over an average pay period in comparison with 2010. In individual stations, sick days plummeted even more, falling 59 percent at McCarran International Airport and 61 percent at the Laughlin station.

One of the two firefighters terminated was Donald Munn, who was stationed in Laughlin. The other was Battalion Chief Renee Dillingham. Dillingham’s wages, retirement and benefits totaled about $274,000 in 2010. Munn’s compensation package totaled about $165,000.

The average wage, retirement and benefits package per firefighter in 2010 was more than $180,000.

Sick-leave abuse has been on the forefront of county issues for more than a year as the government attempts to rein in expenses. When a firefighter calls in sick, mandatory staffing requirements mean another firefighter is called to fill in. That firefighter is typically paid overtime, but can also get a contribution to his or her retirement account if they are called back within 12 hours of a previous shift.

In late January, county administrators said 230 firefighters used sick leave excessively in 2009, with about 40 percent taking 10 sick days — the equivalent of a full month of work for a firefighter — and a dozen missed more than 30 shifts.

Combined with the findings by an independent arbitrator who expressed surprise at firefighter emails that the arbitrator said appeared to show abuse, the county in February started a policy to scrutinize sick leave more carefully.