History suggests that, when discussing lawsuits, the only
people who get rich are Attorneys. Nowhere is this more evident than Attorney Alvin Bordelon and his representation of the City of Kenner in
litigation involving the Kenner Fire Department. Bordelon has earned hundreds
of thousands in taxpayer dollars representing the City in lawsuits brought by
the Kenner Fire Department involving compensation, pension payments and other
issues.
Now, it doesn’t matter whether Bordelon wins or loses – he
still gets paid.
Good work, if you can get it, right?
The question is, why does the City continue to litigate and
pay huge legal fees to battle the KFD in court? Why not just settle the lawsuits, fairly compensate the KFD firefighters, and work to rebuild morale in the beleaguered department?
One answer could be Bordelon’s political connections.
Bordelon was a contributor to former Kenner politicos Aaron
Broussard and Louis Congemi. In recent years, Bordelon has stepped up the
political contributions to include no less than 5 current and former Kenner
City Council members, including both Councilmen-At-Large, Jeannie Black and
Michele Branigan, along with District 2 Councilman Joe Stagni, District 4
Councilwoman Maria Defranchesch and former Kenner District 3 Councilman (and
current JP Councilman) Ben Zahn. In addition, Bordelon has contributed to
Kenner Police Chief Steve Caraway.
Of course, Bordelon’s largest contributions have been to
Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni. Bordelon gave Yenni the maximum $2,500 contribution
allowable by law.
In return, despite a less than stellar won/loss percentage,
Bordelon is the City of Kenner’s go-to Attorney in litigating firefighter
issues.
A few thousand in campaign contributions and you too could
rack up the big bucks representing the City of Kenner, despite Mayor Yenni’s
claims that enlarging the city’s inhouse Legal Department would result in the
elimination of the need for outside attorneys like Bordelon and their huge fees.
Currently, the city is involved in several lawsuits brought
by the Kenner Fire Department union seeking adjustments to their pension payout
and calculation and a recent suit that was re-filed concerning the KFD
Promotional Rate.
The Promotional Rate is the amount of money that a
Firefighter receives for each promotion.
In Jefferson Parish, there are 5 steps below Fire Chief:
-
Operator
-
Lieutenant
-
Captain
-
District Chief
-
Assistant Chief
With each promotion, a Jefferson Parish Firefighter receives
a 10-15% increase in pay. For example, an entry-level JPFD Firefighter earning
$30,000 per year that is promoted to Operator receives a 10% promotional
increase ($3,000) in addition to his annual raises. If he is promoted to
Lieutenant in 8 years and was earning $45,000, he receives another 10%
promotional increase ($4,500), again, in addition to his annual raises.
This pattern continues through each successive promotion.
The Kenner Fire Department does not have the position of
Lieutenant but does have the other four pay grades. However, the promotional increases
are nowhere near Jefferson Parish.
Using the same example as above, an entry-level KFD
Firefighter earning $30,000 per year and promoted to Operator receives $241 per
month or $2,892 per year as the promotional increase.
Pretty close, right?
But, as you move up through the ranks at KFD you still
continue to receive the same $241 per month/$2,892 for each successive
promotion regardless of your pay rate. Assistant Chiefs in JPFD might receive
an $8,000 promotional increase while an Assistant Chief in Kenner would still
receive $2,892.
In our example above, if the Operator was earning $45,000
and promoted to Captain in KFD (since there is no position of Lieutenant), the
promotional increase would be $1,608 less than if the same Firefighter was in
the JPFD. Multiply that $1,608 over the next 20 years and that Firefighter
earns $32,000 less than the same position in JPFD. In addition, since the
Firefighter’s pension is based upon his salary, the pension payout is also
considerably less.
That $32,000 promotional rate gap doesn’t even include the
differences in the annual raises Firefighters receive. Typically, Kenner
provides Firefighters with only the state mandated 2% annual increase. If JP
gives their Firefighters an average 3-5% annual increase, the pay gap grows.
Factoring in real world salary increases, JPFD Captains earn
a base of $10,000 more annually ($18,000 more including overtime), than KFD
Captains.
While correcting the promotional pay gap between the JPFD
and KFD would cost the City of Kenner money, it would also help stem attrition, improve firefighter morale (already at an all-time low due to the mismanagement
of Chief Hellmers), and save the city hundreds of thousands in legal fees.
Of course, Alvin Bordelon’s income might take a hit if the
City of Kenner and the Yenni Administration would do the right thing, stop
litigating and fighting against the KFD, pay them what they are due and support
the KFD.
But then those political contributions from Bordelon to
Kenner elected officials might stop. If you’re a Mayor seeking re-election
that’s not good for the old campaign account, so expect the litigation to
continue and Bordelon to get richer while KFD firefighters keep taking it on
the chin.
So, you can pay the hardworking men and women of the KFD or
you can pay an Attorney who is also a political contributor. Either way, it’s
coming from Kenner taxpayers.
To me, it’s a no brainer. But, I’m not the Mayor.
We already know which option Mayor Yenni chooses.
