Port Chester Tables Vote on Reinstating Paid Firefighters

PORT CHESTER, NY - Trustees on the village board in Port Chester tabled a vote to give eight firefighters their jobs back.

FIOS1News.com said that Mayor Dennis Pilla wants to look more carefully at the resolution from a legal perspective and a budgetary one.

Eight paid firefighters were laid off May 20 due to, according to Port Chester trustees, budgetary cutbacks. The firefighters have since filed a petition asking for a public referendum on the issue.

Get real time Port Chester Patch news alerts and our free daily newsletter; and visit us on Facebook.

Mayor Paul S. Rosenberg of Rye Brook, the community which has an agreement with Port Chester to provide overnight paid fire services, has brought a lawsuit against Port Chester and got a temporary restraining order, which has since expired.

He said the overnight shift has since been staffed by Rye Brook career firefighters working on overtime, and Port Chester volunteers have also been responding to Rye Brook calls.

“There have been several rounds of negotiations between the two villages,” Rosenberg said, “with offers and counteroffers made by both sides.

“What we have tried to make clear to Port Chester is that Rye Brook will not incur financial loss due to Port Chester’s breach of contract,” he said.

Rosenberg said a court date has been pushed back a week to make more time for negotiations.

There will be a discussion at the June 20 board meeting on reinstating the positions.

For more details, go to FIOS1News.com for the story and video.