The jobs of 11 Oak Lawn firefighters were saved this week after the village and the firefighters union reached agreement on concessions, eliminating the need for layoffs to help close a $2.65 million budget deficit.

The Village Board this week voted 5-0 to approve the agreement. Before the agreement, 11 firefighters had been scheduled to be terminated at the end of last month.

Under the agreement, the union's 85 members will forgo scheduled raises and their annual $1,000 uniform purchase allowance. For the next 16 months, they also will give up holiday and overtime pay and work for free on certain days. As part of the deal, the union also agrees to drop two grievances regarding staffing within the Fire Department that it filed in recent months against the village.

Last month, village employees represented by Operating Engineers Union Local 150 agreed to similar pay concessions that averted the layoffs of 17 members.

Oak Lawn officials blame the state of the economy for the village's financial woes. Sales tax receipts through the first six months of this year are below last year's receipts by nearly $970,000, they said.

--Stan Ziemba Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune