Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor is offering to lead the stalled contract negotiations between the City of Tallahassee and the local firefighters’ union. But it’s generating a rebuke from Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey — who appeared to call for the defunding of fire services to areas outside of city limits.
Proctor says since county taxpayers help fund fire services, that money can go toward negotiations. And he says as the area’s longest-serving commissioner, he’s experienced at solving problems.
“And that hinges upon the almost 28 years that I’ve served in every kind of commotion, controversy, public policy matter affecting local governance -- I have been at the table,” he said.
Proctor was joined by City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, who has long been critical of the city’s leadership.
“Since October, our firefighters have been the only city department in the city not to receive a pay raise," Matlow said. "Every other city employee has received a pay raise. So that’s five months of being denied the money that they earn.”
Yet just hours after Proctor and Matlow’s comments, Dailey’s office put out a letter addressed to Proctor which ended with,
“Based on your comments regarding fire service in unincorporated areas of Leon County, it may be time to reevaluate the City’s delivery of fire service to Non-City residents of Leon County.”
The tension between Proctor, Dailey, and Matlow is the latest in ongoing feuds between the city and county governments. There have been walk-outs at joint Blueprint meetings. There’s been an unprecedented move by the city commission directing staff to examine a potential trespassing charge against a sitting county commissioner. It's also no secret that Dailey and Matlow frequently disagree.
Still, Joey Davis, president of the local firefighters union, says he won’t be distracted from the real conversation: about the contract.
“That’s what this conversation is about," Davis said. "That’s what it began about. That’s what it should be about. I don’t want to get into the distraction between the two of them. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the commissioner to weigh in on it. And I don’t think him weighing in on it should mean that we have to light our hair on fire and that the sky is falling.”
The sticking point in the long-running negotiations between the city and the firefighters has been pay and benefits. And for negotiations to go on this long is HIGHLY unusual.
In November, the firefighters held a rally at City Hall to urge the city to reach a deal.
