nothin Pundits: Don’t Blame The Firefighter | New Haven Independent

Pundits: Don’t Blame The Firefighter

Lucy Gellman Photos

Pundits Turner, Ugly, Rawls-Ivy.

WNHH radio’s week-in-review Pundits Panel” isn’t outraged that a city firefighter put in for retirement after getting caught posting a racist comment on Facebook, then larded his request to cash in big.

The plight of the firefighter, Lt. Kevin Owens, prompted some of the liveliest debate on the weekly pundit news review, which aired Friday on the show Dateline New Haven” and featured radio hosts Babz Rawls-Ivy (who also serves as the Inner City News’ managing editor), Michelle Turner, and Joe Ugly.

Owens put in for retirement last week after facing possible dismissal for his Facebook post. (Click here to read about that.)

After 20-plus years in the department, Owens immediately qualified for a $69,667.45 annual pension. No one on the WNHH pundit panel — or commenting on Independent stories — saw a problem with that. He put in the time protecting the public. He earned it.

He also put in a request to trade in 120 days of unused sick time for an extra four years’ worth of service calculated in the pension. If approved, that would boost his annual pension to $85,919.59.

That incensed the Dateline New Haven host (me). My argument: Don’t begrudge someone a solid pension. But this kind of trade-in is excessive and lies at the root of the pension problems devastating city and state governments.

Ugly, Rawls-Ivy and Ugly countered that the firefighter is still playing by the rules — and if the rules are a problem, pressure politicians to change the rules at the next contract negotiation. I agreed, but questioned whether public outrage carries over to pressuring elected officials when it counts, or whether, say, the firefighters union has more influence on politicians at election time.

Owens, who is 54, put in for the trifecta: He also sought a disability pension. That wouldn’t give him more cash. But, if approved, it would allow him to avoid paying taxes the rest of his life on the first half of his annual income.

Again, Rawls-Ivy argued that Owens has the right to pursue that benefit under the contract rules. It’s up to doctors who certify the request (if they do) and the pension board which has to vote on the request to make a wise decision.

I argued that personal responsibility matters in this case, too — that Owens might be gaming the system. And people who do that contribute to governments going broke, souring the public on unions and workers’ rights, and endangering legitimate pensions for everyone else in the future. The city couldn’t legally release the kind of disability Owens claims to have. It may be legitimate. But it sounds fishy. Until he got caught making the racist post, he collected his salary and showed up for work, presenting himself as perfectly able to fight fires. Then, when he faces firing for messing up, he suddenly claims he’s disabled and deserved thousands of more dollars each year in a tax break on top of up to $85,919.59 in pension payments plus health care. Yes, it’s a systemic problem. But it’s also an individual problem that, writ large amid an excusing culture, puts us all at risk. In this one pundit’s opinion.

See what you think — about this, about white-collar crime, about the mayor becoming Board of Education president, about the latest drug bust, about the new Ashmun Flats” in Dixwell — by clicking on the above sound file to hear the entire program.

Below: The firefighter’s Facebook post:

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