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Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 | 2 a.m.
Tom Collins
Steve Sisolak
Related story
Sun archives
- County considers seeking reimbursement over firefighter sick leave abuse (2-15-2011)
- County OKs contract with firefighters that saves $7.4 million (2-1-2010)
- Arbitrator backs county over firefighters’ union in contract negotiations (1-19-2011)
- County firefighters union preaches frugality, to others (11-2-2010)
- Sisolak offers proof of firefighters ‘gaming’ sick leave system (9-11-2010)
- County, firefighters’ union spar over contract negotiations (8-3-2010)
- Is a wave of county firefighter retirements on the horizon? (6-25-2010)
- Rory Reid says firefighters union resorting to ‘scare tactic’ with ad (6-15-2010)
- County considers plan to privatize airport firefighting force (6-11-2010)
- New plan to curtail Clark County firefighter overtime (6-5-2010)
- Staffing shuffle would cut county Fire Department overtime (5-20-2010)
- Las Vegas, Clark County collaborate to limit firefighter overtime (4-27-2010)
- Fire union resists move to increase its ranks, reduce overtime costs (4-16-2010)
- Has fire union support become a campaign curse? (4-15-2010)
Firefighters: Game over.
In the two pay periods since an arbitrator agreed with Clark County that firefighters appeared to be treating sick leave like vacation days, their use of sick leave has fallen 46 percent.
At the fire station at McCarran International Airport, where firefighters appeared to have made a fine art of gaming the system, sick leave plummeted 83 percent.
Commissioner Steve Sisolak, leader of the fight to abolish sick-leave abuse — which drives up overtime costs, which may trigger more taxpayer contributions to retirement accounts — said it’s more proof that the men and women of the department had been scamming the system.
“It’s more clear and convincing evidence of a pattern to take sick leave when it wasn’t appropriate,” Sisolak said. “Under scrutiny, they’ve obviously curtailed taking sick leave. It’s a sign to the sheriff and the district attorney and the FBI that there’s been a problem.”
He said the FBI and Metro Police are trying to determine if criminal investigations are warranted.
In 2009, 231 firefighters missed a month or more of work due to sick leave, while another dozen spent three months on sick leave, according to county records. (Firefighters work 10 shifts per month — 24 hours each — meaning that the 231 called in sick at least 10 times a year.) E-mail among firefighters and their supervisors showed some were planning sick leaves far in advance, and combining them with vacation time. Such machinations in turn activated extensive overtime for those filling in for “sick” firefighters, evidence Sisolak says shows some were manipulating the system coming and going.
In a memo obtained by the Sun, Assistant County Manager Ed Finger compared sick-leave use in two 2011 pay periods to the same periods in 2010. This year’s pay periods occurred right after an independent arbitrator granted the Fire Department greater control in managing sick leave.
Fire administrators can now demand a doctor’s note if an employee calls in sick five times in a year; previously, the note was required only if four consecutive sick days were used.
Additionally, fire battalion chiefs — some of whom, by e-mail, approved requests by other battalion chiefs seeking sick days months ahead of time — no longer handle those requests. Also, county managers, human resources, the fire chief and deputy chiefs will review sick-leave use regularly.
New County Manager Don Burnette has also said sick-leave abusers will forfeit six months, equal to 144 hours, of sick time, and serious abusers may be fired or demoted.
After exposure of the problem and the potential punishments of abusers, county officials expected sick-leave use to fall.
And it did.
In a memo to county commissioners, Finger reported:
• Airport firefighters used 83 percent less sick leave.
• Sick leave among fire investigators fell 67 percent.
• Sick leave at the Laughlin station fell 63 percent. (Measures to save money also reduced Laughlin’s staff 29 percent in July.)
• Among the suppression units, sick leave fell 40 percent and, among fire prevention officers, 36 percent.
Sisolak said the drop in the use of sick leave is evidence — not just a smoking gun but “bullets you can put in the gun” — that firefighters were abusing the system and have now stopped because they were caught.
“This is no coincidence,” he said. “This is a shame. And it’s not everyone, but they are making everyone in the department look bad.”
To the commissioner, the airport and Laughlin sick-leave declines are red flags possibly indicative of “collusion” among firefighters, as those stations are essentially closed working groups: Airport firefighters are specially trained and can only substitute for sick airport firefighters, and Laughlin is 100 miles south of Las Vegas. “So those firefighters substitute only for each other and might work out their sick days to build up overtime for each other,” he said.
Not everyone thinks that way, however. Commissioner Tom Collins hardly thinks two pay periods are enough to reach any kind of conclusion. “What will it be in six months? That’s where you get a better measure.”
He figured some firefighters are now cutting back on sick leave even if they have legitimate reasons to take it because “they know they are under the microscope.”
Then he tore into Sisolak, accusing him of grandstanding for the media and of “throwing Clark County under the bus.”
“He’s got an agenda to get his name out there because the county has always had the authority to take any case they wanted to the district attorney right now,” Collins said. “They’ve got the opportunity and they should have the morals to bring a case to the DA if they think they have a case.”
County and fire management, he added, “has allowed the culture to exist that allows for this kind of thing. It’s just been ... poor management.”
Sisolak said he was perplexed but not angered by Collins’ comments.
He disagreed that the county has had the tools all along to attack sick-leave abuse, saying the tools are available now, but only because of the arbitrator’s decision.
“There simply wasn’t the ability before to do this and now there is,” he said. “So that’s what we’re starting to do, get it taken care of.”
Congratulations to Sisolak & a pox on my representative, Collins! Collins is merely a shill for unions and couldn't care less if they or their members cheat the public so long as he gets their support! Meanwhile, it's the sunshine that the "Fourth Estate" brought upon this practice that is the real hero here. This is an example of why the Founding Fathers thought it so important to have a free press and instituionalized it in the 1st Amendment.
Statements like the one from Commissioner Tom Collins is just one reason why we have abuse in the County system. Thanks Tom for your support of the fire fight.
Monitoring sick leave usage is a simple matter and it's the responsibility of FD management to track the usage. It's not rocket science. It sounds to me like no one above the rank of Captain was doing their job.
One word; BUSTED!!
AND WE SHOULD RAISE TAXES TO SUPPORT WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE ?
LET'S TALK ABOUT UMC COLLECTING LESS THAN 5% OF THE MONEY THEY ARE OWED BY INSURANCE COMPANIES.
AND THE UMC PRESIDENT KEEPS HER JOB BY THE PROTECTION OF THE COUNTY COMMISSION !!
Too bad I don't live in Mr. Collins district. It would give me such great pleasure to vote him out of office.
Of course the firefighters worry they are being watched. They are. And good thing. This is just as bad as if they came into our homes and took the money right out of our pockets. Their friends and neighbors pockets. And they continued their stealing when they knew result would mean job losses for their fellow workers. They are morally reprehensible.
It's time to combine sick leave and vacation into personnel time and end this practice.
Chunky says:
People do what you inspect, not what you expect!
Maybe the tide has turned on this but they still need to investigate, prosecute and seek restitution for the taxpayers if the circumstances and evidence warrant it.
That's what Chunky thinks!
"He's got an agenda", sure Tommy, it's called putting BETTER USE OF HARD WORKING TAX PAYER MONEY...You JERK! How dare you shoot the messenger after YOU are one of the rare few that have created this environment of robbing the tax payer! Now I can't remember why I had respect for you at one time, since your recent comments have flushed away that respect but you are a total idiot. Poor Tommy, you might not like how Sisolak is going about getting the word out, fine, but don't comment on the innocence of these DIRT BAG Clark County firefighters......by the way, can't wait to see how many of these dirt bag Clark County firefighters have to foreclose (and hopefully) move out of Vegas. And don't give me any of that, 'Well then, who will fight the fires in Vegas' junk. *knock knock, Vegas has a very small percentage of fires when compared to any city 1/4 the size of Vegas back east!
It is interesting how smoke inhalation injuries drop with administrative oversight. Could it be that the fires now have 83% less smoke?
could tom collins be any more of a clown???
hey tommy boy...
we all know you played a large role in causing this...
http://transparentnevada.com/salaries/20...
and guess what tommy boy...
we are p!$$#@!!!
steve sisolak is...
THE FRICKIN MAN!!!
hey stevie...
run for governor buddy...
private birdie reporting for duty el capitan!!!
DISTRICT ATTORNEY DAVID ROGERS IS A PATHETIC JOKE!!!
just consider the hepatitis epidemic...
roughly 50,000 affected...
3 charged...
1 doctor...
are you frickin kidding me davie boy???
only 3...
only 1 doctor...
and...
that 1 doctor is kicking your @$$...
ladies and gentlemen...
boys and girls...
it is pretty damn clear...
crystal clear actually...
the citizens of clark county are just not safe with davie boy as district attorney...
like i said...
DISTRICT ATTORNEY DAVID ROGERS IS A PATHETIC JOKE!!!
there simply is no more powerful evidence...
period...
end of story...
abusers must be fired!!!
abusers must be charged!!!
To all the commissioners... What does a fireman do in a 24 Hour Work SHIFT ??? How many fires does a fireman go to in a Year ??? First CUT the firemen Pay in HALF..Put the firemen on a 8 hour a day work shift.. 40 hours a week.. That would put a STOP to Paying firemen when they Sleep with taxpayers Money..and STOP Paying firemen when they EAT with Taxpayers Money..The Taxpayers are fed up Paying the firemen 200,000 Thousand Dollars or more a Year.. and then the Taxpayers have to pay the firemen 100,000 a year when they Retire.. THE WELL IS DRY.. Commissioners it is time to stop talking about these OVERPAID CROOKS.. Time to get BACK ALL of the MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THE TAXPAYERS HAD TO PAY THESE CROOKS in SICK PAY and OVER TIME..
to the CCFD firefighters union, and their "champion" Tom Collins:
Burn, Baby, Burn
the jig is up, you've been busted. stone cold busted.
Taxes don't need to be raised. Cut back the fat in the CCFD, Metro, and the Clark County School District, and you will see what a savings this will create....The school district has useless meetings for principals to attend weekly...Food is served at this meetings all on tax payers dime. These adminstrators are never in their buildings 3/4 of the time. They aren't needed.....Let's get rid of the waste in state and county!
Collins is part of the Mormon Mafia.
@Steve10...it's not true about administers not being in the school buildings 3/4 of the time. My principal and assistant princial are always at school. It's pretty rare that they aren't there. We could do with a 1/2 time assistant principal though. There is where some waste could be trimmed.
Oldbrown, everyone was participating in this scheme. Eveyone got rich, is getting rich, and will continue to get rich, until Tom collins is either indicted or fired. Until then the firefighters will be protected. The recent payroll reports show what the firefighters were capable of, (Grand Larceny). The records are a smoking gun of their theft. FBI, Justice Dept, Nevada DA, and the IRS are needed here. How much can you steal from a taxpayer! Tom Collins could care less, he's just a good ol' boy having a goodtime with his buddies! How sick! Thank you Steve Sisolak!
I hope they prosecute because if it was any other government job they would be prosecuted to the fullest.These are nothing but common criminal activity.
Any firefighter who violates the sick leave policy should immediately be terminated. No questions asked-bottom line. There's plenty of firefighters to replace them.
What is the GREAT one... DA David Roger doing about this MESS about the OVERPAID firemen...? You would think he put a lot of the Crooks in JAIL by now...
tchm5---It depends on the school...Some admins enjoy their job and are at their schools...Many see it as LET'S GO OUT AND PLAY....I know many teachers that say their admins are gone 1/2 of the week or more....Supposedly at "meetings".???...Which I wonder is even true (about the meetings)...
Women admins are the worst ones for taking off and going "shopping". That needs to be looked into as well. Some teachers abuse sick leave as well and use it as vacation time...Some try to use all their sick leave up before they retire, and their is a sub in their classroom 25-50 percent of the time during their last year of teaching--trying to use up all of their sick time...Pretty pathetic....Some teachers go on two week cruises during the school year using their sick leave...Again...who allows this abuse? The admins do....It's not just the fire department that abuses the system--It's metro and the school district as well.
This is why the sheriff doesn't relish the idea of an investigation into the firemen/women frauding the tax payers becasue he knows their is fraud within meto regarding abuse of over time, and he doesn't want them looking into metro.
big question , who are the idiots who vote tom collins into office?
Only the FBI will save us now. it is called;
R.I.C.O. racketeering, influence, corrupt organization and THAT IS;
COPS, Fire Fighters, Clark County COMMISSIONERS
I say arrest and jail all;
use the PATRIOT ACT (they did w/ Galardi and the commissioners)
when is Collins up for reeclection?
we should all mark our calendars, so we can go out and vote him OUT OF OFFICE.
him AND Chris G.
both of 'em are bought and paid for by the public unions.
where's the donuts?
It's pretty obvious that Tom Collins is part of the problem and needs to go.
almost lunch time...
fire up the tanker and let's down to the supermarket.
new york steaks for everyone on the taxpayer's dime.
thanks, suckers!
Amazing! All of a sudden all these FD employees got better! MMMM, How friggin stupid can they be...
So Commissioner Collins is accusing Commissioner Sisolak of grandstanding because he just saved us hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars by exposing a scam involving firefighter sick leave. If that is true, I hope that he keeps grandstanding. I suppose it is "throwing Clark County under the bus" because he didn't keep quiet and let it continue.
I applaud Commissioner Sisolak and his service to the taxpayers of Clark County.
I'm glad this has been exposed, though it continues to foster the perception that all public empoyees are bad. Most public employees by far go to work, play by the rules and do a good job... but you'll never be able to convince the public when crap like this happens.
This is a 24 hour town. If the Casinos can cover all bases at all hours of the day then why can't the FD?? Why should they have to work 24 hour shifts? 12pm-8pm, 8pm-4am, 4am-12pm. Get some statistics on busy times and have more manpower on that shift. I would love to know how many fires and emergency calls for the FD we had last year versus other cities of similar size. With all the new construction and updated building codes, Las Vegas doesn't have old structures that are more likely to catch fire than other cities. If anything, trim the Firefighter position and hire more Fire prevention people to go around and due inspections and there won't be any fires!! They can work 9 to 5.
Just some thoughts, but we definately have a problem and whoever is caught abusing the system should be prosecuted and ordered to pay restitution!!
"I'm glad this has been exposed, though it continues to foster the perception that all public empoyees are bad.
Most public employees by far go to work, play by the rules and do a good job... but you'll never be able to convince the public when crap like this happens."
--------------------------
Agreed.
This is what Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey etc are all about. Corrupt public employee unions spending unions dues to get friends elected who continue to approve greater and greater pay and benefits increases. It isn't about union busting, although the liberal media is spinning it that way. It's about taking control over renegade "public" employees who have a propensity to lie, steal and cheat. Just take a look at our CC Fire Dept cheaters.
If I had the power;
Tom Collins investigation would be PRIORITY ONE
PRIORITY TWO; Battalion chiefs AND under Racketeering, Influence, Organized Crime Act
Big Brother can take everything they have and every will have.
PUT THE FEAR of poverty and prison in front of them, they will sing like birds for a better deal.
They may have the "gangster talk" down BUT these wimps CAN NOT and WILL NOT Walk the Walk!!!
"Fire deparments shoud be privatized and run by the mob just like garbage."
------------------------------
Huh?
Why do we have the most expensive firefighters here compared to back east?
What is the typical construction type and typical yard back east? - Wood roof, wood siding, old wiring and a yard full of trees.
How many 100 year old buildings here? None
How many bridges - Very few
What is the general construction here - concrete stucco (rock walls), concrete roofs (rock roofs)
What is is our typical yard consist of, not trees and forrest - (rock yards)
In summary - We have newer buildings made primarily of concrete with little landscaping and we pay our firefighters more than anywhere else in the country. Makes ya wanna go hmmm!
With the firefighter schedules there should be NO SICK LEAVE FOR SCHEDULED MEDICAL EXAMS, vaccines, tests, even therapeutic treatments. Only for real illness, indisposed.
All you people that think sisolak is a hero, bet you didnt know that he sued the county for millions of dollars. He calls the firemen greedy while he sits in his Spanish Trails mansion counting the millions he also took from us tax payers. I dont think the firemen are right for what they did but sisolak isnt a saint either. Look it up!
No more Ford F250's with lift kits and their toy haulers traveling to So. Utah. I feel sorry for Duck Creek, UT. Oh well, the firefighters can still use their vacation time for it's intended purpose and travel to our Utah neighbors in the summer.
Tom Collins attacks Commissioner Sisolak for exposing the dishonesty and corruption in the Clark County Fire Department that has cost taxpayers millions of dollars?
How much more dishonest can one get? Hopefully an FBI investigation will put Collins in the same Graybar hotel as his corrupt commissioner predecessors - Mary Kincaid Chauncey, Lance Malone and Erin Kenney.
I live in Centennial Hills and there is a very large Fire house off of Elkhorn. In 2 1/2 years, I have never seen or heard a Firetruck come or go from this place. There are always 2 Highway Patrol cars parked in the back. What goes on in these Firehouses when there are no fires, which is about 99.9% of the time?
I would love to see Commissioner Sisolak make an unannounced visit to a firehouse with a video camera and see what he finds. My guess is X-box, Wii and Playstations. Basically finding these guys doing nothing pertaining to their job.
We have to cut teachers pay when they make about 4 times less than these leeches called fireman. My children are having to sacrifice a good eduacation so we can pay these losers to play Xbox and go to the gym!! Unbelievable
This is an obvious scam and has been going on for a long time. And not just here; it is common nationwide. The way the system is used results in high overtime costs and higher pensions, as intended by the scammers. The tax payer has been stolen from, over and over.
The public has been rode hard, put up wet and supported of course by union reps and sympathizers to keep the goose laying those golden eggs. The author is correct in that it taints the whole department and will for years, including those who didn't run the scam.
Time to clean house and prosecute all those who stole from the public. These are good paying jobs that provide plenty of quality training, career opportunities and benefits. There are many who would gladly apply for these positions and accept the responsibility of protecting the public without stealing from us.
I don't have a complaint about Metro. They write tickets that generate revenue. Most of them aren't sitting around playing Xbox or going to the grocery store waiting for something to happen. Maybe during their down time they can go around and pick up trash. The ladders on these fire trucks can reach all the graffiti on the freeway signs up and down the 95 and 15.
Steve Sisolak:
You're the best. Keep digging and make them pay BACK.
I have no respects for firefighters.
The sad part is that taxpayers know that they are being ripped off but have no power to stop it. It's left up to the county commission, the DA, and the AG. Problem is that most of these officials are Demorats! Where do we (the taxpayers) go for justice. I suspect as others do that this is a national scheme by public sector employees. Maybe we need a national news agency like 60 minutes to expose this nationwide. Obama's justice department is not the one to investigate as they need the votes and campaign dollars. 60 minutes, save us!
This is fraud against tax payers. JAIL TIME!!!
A lady friend of mine, whose hubby is a firefighter, tells me that her hubby is not worried at all, because he knows county officials aren't going to do anything about it. She said he laughs reading the reader comments after these articles.
I, too, find these comments amusing. Where was all this outrage on election day? Sheriff Dizzy is still there, you know he's not doing anything. Same with the D.A. Roger the Dodger and all the other usual suspects. It is nice to be a county employee these days isn't it?
Sisolak.
I hope you have someone reading these comments for you. Keep up the good work!
You may be the first Commissioner who gets reelected without selling out to the FF union.
Remember gang, we have to reward Sisolak with our votes or his courage is all in vain.
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE.
liljoe31: I think you said it best. The FF's aren't worried. They have probably been told to wait a couple of months until things cool down and then they can resume the FRAUDULANT activities.
Mr. Sisolak keep after these scumbags. Make an unannounced visit with 1 of the news stations and see exactly what these guys do during their shift. They are county owned places aren't they. Make it happen. Call DATELINE NBC and 60 MINUTES. They did it for Bell California. Same thing here..
Send everybody to a public Jury and do the dirty laundry.
Sisolak wants his name in the paper again, can you write another article on firefighters.
Have Sisolak explain how he allowed this to happen for 2 1/2 years when he ran for office on the platform of hiring more firefighters, take some blame commissioner.
How many of these crooks have gone on disability since these stories broke?
With all the reality shows on nowadays, ever wonder why there isn't one about firefighters? May be they don't want us to know how little they do and that 90% of all calls are to auto accidents that free ambulances show up to also.
the ambulance isnt free retard
The ambulance is free to the taxpayer, retard!
You pay for it when you need it. The FD double dips. We pay huge taxes for them and they bill you or your insurance company to transport just as much as the FREE one would.