Firefighters in Brookfield saved a brother’s job back in January by agreeing to forego holiday pay, tuition reimbursement for training and their allotment for uniforms. The concessions saved the job of Nick Tomeczko for at least 12 months after he had been laid off Jan. 3.
On May 18, Tomeczko spent his final day as a Brookfield firefighter, leaving for greener pastures in Westchester.
“He was a very good employee here,” said Brookfield Fire Chief Patrick Lenzi. “It came down to, after a lot of research by him, that it appeared that Westchester would be a more stable situation.”
Tomeczko did not return a call to the Westchester Fire Department.
When Tomeczko was laid off on Jan. 3, it was the second time he had been laid off within a year. As the junior firefighter on the force, he was odd man out in May 2009, when the village released nine full- and part-time employees. His job was saved in June, when firefighters agreed to the same concessions they agreed to in again January.
Firefighters unhappily agreed to a one-year contract later in January that froze their salaries. The village and firefighters will begin negotiating a new contract later this year, and there’s no guarantee union employees will agree to another wage freeze. If they don’t, more layoffs are likely unless the village can bolster its operating revenues.
Tomeczko began his career as a firefighter in March 2007. With his job on the line in January, he appeared before the village board and pleaded for his job to be saved. But it was only when his brothers in the department agreed to concessions, that he was rehired by the village.
According to the union contract, if Tomeczko had resigned his post within three years, he would have had to reimburse the village for his training expenses. By resigning in May, he had passed that deadline.
“I’m sorry to see him go,” Lenzi said.
Village Manager Riccardo Ginex said that Brookfield will be looking to hire two new firefighters this summer. In addition to the vacancy created by the loss of Tomeczko, the village will also have an opening once Capt. Joseph Starosta retires after almost 40 years on the job on June 30. He would have celebrated his 40th year as a Brookfield firefighter in October, Lenzi said.