There's no question that city hall officials - and that starts with city manager Mark Palesh and the city council - made a grave mistake when they failed to officially notify the firefighters union that the city wanted to negotiate the labor contract set to expire this year.

By failing to meet that deadline, the AFD union has the option to refuse to negotiate and have the current contract run for another year.

This, of course, is a contract that has resulted in an exorbitant amount of overtime being paid to firefighters because the department has to keep 15 people on a shift at all times. It's a contract the city badly needs to rework to bring the scales back into better balance.

But it's important to keep this missed deadline in perspective. Even if the city had given its official notification and negotiations started, the firefighters could still refuse to come to a new agreement.

In the end, it's still up to both sides to find a way to reach a deal that is in the best interests of all parties involved.

That brings us to the comments of union President Steven Parker. In discussing the contract situation last week, Parker came across as almost gleeful. “But we have the option to get up at any time and walk out,” Parker said. “I've said it before. We're holding all the cards here.”

That's a troubling sentiment made on behalf of a group of people who are funded by taxpayer money.

There's nothing wrong with a union president working to get the best deal for his members - that's the job. But when the union represents government employees, its leadership should also show some respect for the people who ultimately fund the paychecks.

The firefighters contract is not a card game. The firefighters should demand their union president stop treating it like one.

Talks need to start at some point anyway. What's the harm to the AFD in getting them started now?