Certification Seen for Firefighter Contract

Ventura County firefighters, who have been without a union contract for more than a year, are expecting an agreement with the county fire district to be certified next week.

The proposed contract calls for no salary increases and would cover the period through December, 1996, officials said.

The contract also contains a provision that would help reduce the amount of compensatory time that firefighters take in lieu of overtime, which officials said is more expensive than paying overtime. This new provision is expected to save the district between $200,000 and $300,000 annually.

In addition, the work agreement calls for reinstating a firefighter reserve program and establishing random drug and alcohol testing, said Ron Komers, director of the county personnel department. The department currently conducts drug and alcohol testing during the hiring process.

Ken Maffei, president of the Ventura County Firefighters Assn., said that the 360-member union is frustrated with the contract agreement that the membership recently approved.

“Everytime I think that morale can’t go down anymore, it gets even lower,” he said.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to certify the contract agreement between the union and fire district at its meeting on Tuesday.