If firefighters were paid a similar (inflation adjusted) salary + benefits as they got back in the 70′s and 80′s (remember inflation adjusted), then Oakland could hire from 10% to 20% more staff with their current money.
I grew up around lots and lots of firemen back from 1960 through 1980 and they never had the standard of living they now enjoy.

Meanwhile as we dumped billions into proping up city and county public employees, delaying the cutbacks, during the first years of this recession, the folks at the bottom got crushed. For a fireman’s $185,000 subsidized salary, you could have given 4 or 5 out of work people some decent jobs with enough money to get by.

By comparison, I know a person in a department who retired 2 years ago, well short of age 60, with a pension north of 140k…. while they never earned even 115K on the job for base pay. Sick excess subsidized once again.

Many, though not all, public employees are overpaid when you count in all the salary, benefits, and pension costs. Rather than hold down salaries, they tend to lay off staff, then complain about how service is suffering. Witness San Jose police and fire.
I still remember their arrogance in San Jose when cutbacks were needed. A firefighter was all pissed off saying the citizens didn’t respect him.
Yes, a quick check of his compensation for the prior year placed him over $200,000. Disgusting arrogance.

If you put out a help wanted ad for OFD, at 75% of the pay scale and 75% of the pension, you’d have 10,000 appplications for 10 jobs.
Says everything about how out of whack the compensation has become.

This money will do nothing to improve services. All it does is buy time. Most of this money will get dumped into the pension rat hole.

Thompson, Lee and Miller continue to propagate the fiscal irresponsibility.

What, nothing for Contra Costa Fire District?