One city's loss may be another city's gain.
Mayor James Fiorentini has offered jobs to three Lawrence firefighters who were laid off in July in a round of budget cuts.
He said he is looking for a fourth firefighter as well and that the three he offered jobs to could begin work as early as Sept. 12. Fiorentini would not release their names, saying the city must still conduct background checks and complete hiring paperwork. Those checks will include psychological evaluations, according to one city official.
"We've made offers to three experienced firefighters and they have tentatively accepted," Fiorentini said yesterday. "They have great recommendations from the Lawrence fire chief and we assume everything will be fine."
He said he contacted the men on Thursday to congratulate them and also contacted Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua's chief of staff Leonard Degnan to tell him about the offers Haverhill has made.
"One came in to sign his acceptance of the offer and the other two told me they will come in as well," Fiorentini said about the candidates. "We are looking for a fourth person, as we are down four firefighters. These hires will enable us to meet the minimum number of firefighters we need to have on duty."
City Councilor David Hall, head of the city's public safety committee, said he's been fighting for more than a year to get the city to fill open firefighter positions, which he says have cost the city "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to cover through overtime.
"Since the start of the new fiscal year on July 1 we've spent $233,000 in overtime," Hall said. "Hopefully these new hires will help reduce our overtime costs."
Hall said the mayor put on two firefighters this spring and that these new hires will fulfill a promise he made last year to bring on six firefighters.
Hall said that even though the firefighters to be hired are experienced and certified, he expects they will be hired at the entry salary rate.
Lawrence laid off 23 firefighters on July 7 in an effort to balance its budget. In addition, several high-ranking fire officials were demoted, including one captain to lieutenant and two lieutenants to firefighters. The Engine 9 firehouse at 161 Bailey St. was closed. It was the third fire station in the city shut down due to the city's financial crisis.
Fiorentini said the city submitted a request to civil service this summer asking permission to hire four new firefighters and it was approved last month.
He said civil service provided fire Chief Richard Borden with two lists of candidates and that he worked closely with Human Resources Director Nancy Carrington in the selection process.
Fiorentini said one list is a prioritized rehire list of laid off firefighters (based on seniority) and the other is an open completive list (based on test scores and veteran status) of those who have passed the civil service exam. "As required we picked from the rehire list first," Fiorentini said.
"We actually made offers to four people, three who tentatively said yes and a fourth who said no. We are still looking for a fourth and if there is no one on the rehire list we will go to the other list."
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