CITY OF HARTFORD
HARTFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT 253 High Street Hartford, Connecticut 06103 Telephone: (860) 757-4500 Fax: (860) 722-8205 www.hartford.gov
LUKE A. BRONIN
MAYOR
REGINALD D. FREEMAN
Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director
To: Members of Hartford Fire Department May 16, 2016 From: Reginald D. Freeman, Fire Chief/EMD Subject: Clarification on retirement Greetings fellow members of HFD, As you know, the City of Hartford is facing financial challenges that require swift and decisive action. Due to our financial uncertainty, a large number of our firefighters, including many of our most experienced, are considering retiring earlier than expected. For those of you who are considering retiring, I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and commitment to the city, our beloved department and our residents. But I want to make sure that you are getting accurate information about how our financial uncertainty could affect you. To ease some of the concerns many of you have expressed, please find attached a frequently asked questions document from Acting Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Debra Carabillo. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact her directly. The bottom line is this: nothing happens on June 11
th
or June 30
th
that puts your benefits at risk. If you are eligible for retirement, you cannot get stuck
–
unwillingly
–
in a contract that changes your retirement benefits. Even if a contract has retroactive terms, you will have the opportunity to review the contract before it goes into effect. If you want to leave at that point, you will be able to leave under the old contract, not the new one.
Please know that I’m keenly aware of how difficult it is facing these uncertain times. As your Chief, the welfare
of you and your families is of the utmost importance to me. I take that responsibility seriously. That said, I want to reiterate that you can be rest assured we have a plan in place, and this department will remain strong as we move forward.
I have the utmost confidence in everyone in this department and know that we’ll continue to deliver exceptional
service to our city, aimed at keeping the city safe and secure. Respectfully, Reginald D. Freeman Fire Chief