Work Hours

Someone that serves on the lake board with me always gives me grief about how much firefighters earn in a year. It's hard to argue that we don't do well, but there are some things the media, when they print our names and incomes, fail to mention-- ---Our retirement is only figured on our base pay, not on overtime. By short staffing, the city saves money on retirements, insurance, and benefits. ---Some of that overtime is voluntary. Much of it is mandatory. I worked 418 hours of mandatory shifts in 2013. ---I was physically at work more than I wasn't at work in 2013.... Compare that to our troops, though. Some earn as little as $17,832 for the year, and get, as I undestand it, about 30 days worth of 'leave' per year. Or How about AnnaMarie? Her pay is essentially zero (this is hard to quantify. She has complete control over our finances and has access to all 'my', technically 'our', income) But she has no real time off, either acting as Mom or Wife or Gardener or Painter or Entertainer or Chauffer or any of a thousand other tasks...