Auburn City Council approved a previously rejected firefighter contract Thursday after Mayor James Giannettino Jr. changed his vote, arguing that reducing minimum staffing immediately would help contain overtime and avoid the financial uncertainty of arbitration.
The 3-2 decision followed objections from residents, a city employee union representative and two councilors who questioned whether Auburn could afford the agreement while other departments operate with fewer employees.
Giannettino joined Councilors Terry Cuddy and Christina Calarco in approving the contract with Auburn Professional Firefighters Local 1446. Craig Diego and Rhoda Overstreet-Wilson opposed it.
The council also approved an ambulance employees’ agreement and discussed keeping Casey Park Pool available next summer while exploring a splash pad or smaller replacement pool.
Mayor reverses course over overtime and arbitration risks
The firefighter agreement is unchanged from the proposal council rejected in September. It runs retroactively from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, with 3% wage increases in each contract year.
It lowers minimum staffing per shift from 14 to 12 and establishes a minimum of 65 positions across specified firefighter ranks and daytime assignments. The agreement retains language preventing those positions from being left vacant or abolished because of economic or budgetary constraints, while allowing hiring to coincide with available recruit training.
Employees’ share of health insurance premiums increases to 16.25% for the first contract year, 17.5% for the second and 18.75% for the third.
Giannettino said his reconsideration centered on the cost of maintaining the existing staffing requirement while pursuing arbitration. Without an agreement, he said, the city would continue filling vacancies with overtime to meet the 14-person minimum.
Depending on how long arbitration took, estimates provided to him ranged from hundreds of thousands of dollars to as much as $2 million in additional overtime. Those were potential costs under different timelines, rather than a fixed arbitration expense.
The mayor also pointed to three firefighters expected to finish academy training by the end of November, providing additional staffing relief.
Although the agreement falls short of his goal of having firefighters contribute 25% toward health insurance, Giannettino said it moves contributions upward and creates opportunities to explore alternative coverage.
“I want to emphasize that this is an opportunity, not a guarantee,” he said of potential insurance savings.
Opponents question affordability and staffing protections
Diego argued that the city already understood the overtime and arbitration risks when it rejected the contract. He said the unchanged agreement continued to restrict management’s ability to respond to financial problems.
He distinguished the shift minimum from the protection against eliminating positions, arguing that the staffing requirement drives overtime when too few employees are available.
Diego also said the city had budgeted no money for contractual raises or retroactive pay and questioned how the agreement would be funded without adding pressure elsewhere.
Overstreet-Wilson questioned whether an independent review of scheduling could identify alternatives. She described a lack of trust underlying the dispute over staffing protections and said she remained concerned about postponing difficult decisions until the next contract.
The debate followed warnings that rising insurance, electricity and other expenses could undermine Auburn’s effort to rebuild reserves.
Diego cited a 22.8% health insurance increase and a preliminary estimate that the city could need approximately $710,000 beyond its budgeted amount. He emphasized that the calculation remained subject to enrollment decisions.
City Manager Jennifer Haines had explained earlier in the week that the additional insurance expense would affect multiple city funds, rather than represent a calculated general fund deficit.
Residents questioned the fairness of approving raises and staffing protections after earlier cuts. CSEA representative Tom Gabak urged rejection, saying other employees and the services they provide should not bear reductions to accommodate another department’s agreement.
Fire department representatives disputed claims that their department had avoided staffing concessions.
Union President Ryan Guerrette said eight fire positions were among the positions eliminated or left unfilled during the earlier budget reductions. He described agreements to leave vacancies open as part of efforts to help the city.
Fire Chief Mark Fritz said vacancies, injured employees and recruits still attending the academy had reduced the number of people available for regular assignments, contributing to overtime.
Guerrette said reducing the shift minimum would require a significant operational adjustment. Haines said staffing requirements had been discussed extensively during negotiations and maintained that the city negotiated in good faith.
Ambulance agreement passes 4-1
Cuddy supported both labor agreements, emphasizing that negotiations involve concessions and that each bargaining unit has different existing terms.
“I believe both contracts are fair,” he said.
The ambulance employees’ agreement passed 4-1, with Diego opposed. It runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, and provides 2% annual wage increases, along with stipends for specific responsibilities.
- HWS professor David Ost weighs socialist mayors’ impact on government
- 2027 federal tax brackets expand as standard deduction rises to $16,600
- Haines says Auburn is already stretched thin as rising costs threaten budget recovery
- Auburn moves toward ending Flock contract as council weighs energy costs, budget overhaul
Ambulance employees contribute 25% toward health insurance premiums, with the city paying 75%.
Diego said his objection concerned the timing and structure of raises in a year without budgeted funding for them. He said he would have supported a differently structured agreement that deferred the first-year increase.
Cuddy said the agreements reflected months of bargaining and argued that the council should approve or reject the negotiated terms rather than attempt to renegotiate them during the meeting.
Pool funding remains unresolved as council explores replacements
Later, the council turned to another recurring financial question: the future of Casey Park Pool.
Haines asked for direction before the next budget and capital planning processes advance. The council expressed interest in researching a splash pad, with Cuddy favoring consideration of a smaller swimming pool alongside it to preserve opportunities for children to learn to swim.
Calarco said a splash pad could provide a place to cool off with fewer maintenance and staffing demands. Overstreet-Wilson also supported exploring that option.
The discussion did not approve a replacement project or allocate money to open the pool next summer.
Director of Capital Projects and Grants Christina Selvek said staff would investigate funding opportunities, but capital improvements would not be ready for next summer. Financing, design and the city’s annual borrowing schedule would affect the timetable.
Haines cautioned against assuming the YMCA would repeat its previous assistance with lifeguard costs, saying that contribution had been presented as a one-year commitment.
Cuddy and Calarco said they wanted to avoid closing the pool without a replacement plan. Giannettino suggested asking state representatives to expand the NY SWIMS program to support operating expenses as well as construction.
Staff will examine potential funding and capital options, leaving the pool’s next season and long-term configuration for further decisions.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.