As reported by pressofatlanticcity.com, Atlantic City’s 30 laid-off firefighters will return to work on April 4, 2011. There will be an orientation, which will begin the process to get them back in uniform, and filling positions that currently require either overtime or closing companies, Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said.

The rehires will be paid for by a $9.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant provides money to paid and volunteer fire departments to help keep them at safe personnel levels. It provides money only to those who man equipment.

Atlantic City was awarded the grant two months ago, and the City Council unanimously approved it on March 9. Now, they have until May 5 to get everything into place so that none of the money is lost, Brooks said. 

Atlantic City cut 30 firefighters and 40 police officers last year in an effort to trim millions of dollars from the budget. The grant will pay for the returning firefighters’ salaries for two years, along with allowing the city to hire 21 additional firefighters to fill jobs lost to attrition. The money also covers 10 promotions to fire captain.

Exactly how the new firefighters will be hired remains uncertain. There is a list to hire from for the new firefighters, which needs to be approved by the Department of Community Affairs because it is a civil service job. Brooks said he believes that approval has been received, but will know for sure in the immediate future. However, he did not know the status in getting the new fire captains, many who have been filling the position in an “acting” capacity.

Tags: Articles, Atlantic City, firefighters, Layoffs, NJ Firefighters, SAFER
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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