The cost of living is on everyone’s minds, including retired policemen, firefighters and their families.
Durango City Council approved a cost of living adjustment for its police and fire Old Hire Pension boards on Wednesday. Retired first responders shared glimpses into their careers, how far technology has come and the risks taken to serve the public.
City Council approved a $300 per month increase for retired police and firefighters and their beneficiaries.
The city makes annual contributions to each pension board to compensate retired first responders for their work during a time when the city of Durango didn’t participate in Social Security or Medicare, which hurt those employees’ ability to obtain federal retirement benefits, according to a summary of the cost of living adjustments.
On Wednesday, City Council approved a one-time payment of $234,111 and an increase of $21,173 for the police pension plan and a one-time payment of $181,921 for the fire pension to accommodate the $300 monthly cost of living adjustments.
Retired Durango Police Department Capt. Dale Smith said he and former Capt. Gary McKnight are the last remaining retired officers on the old hire pension plan, although four spouses of past captains, sergeants and lieutenants remain beneficiaries as well.
He said the times were different when he and McKnight joined the Durango police force 55 years ago as rookies in 1970. DPD provided them three uniforms, a winter coat, a nameplate and a badge. They had to supply their own handcuffs, batons, flash lights, .38-caliber revolvers and ammunition.
DPD had 17 officers and three patrol cars in 1970, he said. Bulletproof vests were out of sight and out of mind. Patrol cars lacked protective screens separating front and back seats. The cars were equipped with two-way nonportable radios. Officers carried dimes in their pockets in case they had to call the station from a payphone.
He said technology has come a long way since the 1970s. But some parts of the job remain the same.
“Police work is stressful and demanding and challenging and can be very dangerous at times. I believe the only thing that’s harder than being a police officer is being a police officer’s spouse,” he said. “The spouse has to spend nights alone, eat dinners alone, spend Christmas and other holidays alone. They have to attend family get-togethers alone, and if there are children in the family, they have to take care of their children’s needs (school activities).”
He said a police officer’s partner endures the stress of not knowing when a knock at the door might preclude the news their husband or wife was seriously injured or killed.
“That’s why the beneficiaries are so important and appreciated by us, as they stood by and supported their husbands for 25 years or more while they served this community,” he said.
Retired Durango Fire Department Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman said he also retired after 37 years of service. He joined the department in 1977, three years after the Main Avenue Fire of 1974 that claimed the lives of policeman Cpl. Gale Emerson and firefighter Nick Parks III. The tragedy led to the resignation of two more firefighters.
“Throughout my career, I advanced through the ranks of firefighter, making an initial wage of $3.25 an hour – somewhere in that range. That was on a 24-hour basis. We were there for 24 hours, then you could go home. Then you would go back to work for 24 hours,” he said.
He said he had two families: his wife and two daughters at home and his family at the department he worked with day and night.
“I can remember being on fires that were horrific. I can remember a young lady that was burned over 90% of her body and I was the first one on scene. It’s not a sight I’ve ever wanted to see again,” he said. “I can remember going on Missionary Ridge Fire and working with that crew and all of the crews that came in to help.”
He said there are four firefighters left on the fire pension plan: Wayne Webb, Jerry Peters, Chris Garcia and himself.
Garcia said first responders continue to deal with “injury, death and destruction,” even in a rural place like La Plata County.
“We see a lot of things that most people don’t see in their lives,” he said. “I appreciate your consideration of our request for a cost of living increase.”
cburney@durangoherald.com