An article in yeserday’s Chicago Tribune mentions that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is beginning to look at cuts to both the police and fire departments to help bridge a budget shrtfall.

… And the once sacrosanct Fire Department also is being scoured for ways to cut costs, according to several City Hall sources.

The Emanuel administration isn’t saying which police stations might be in its sights. And it is unclear how far along officials are in exploring ideas, though a high-ranking administration source confirms “everything is on the table” when it comes to bridging an overall $636 million budget gap next year.

“The police and fire are the biggest part of our budget. If we don’t look at them, we will never get to the kind of savings we need to,” O’Connor said. “To the extent that public safety isn’t compromised, we can look for ways to save money that we haven’t done in the past.”

… Touching firefighters may be even more difficult.

The firefighters union contract, which expires next June, stipulates the number of personnel assigned to rigs and fire companies that must be maintained. It also spells out shift hours.

Firefighters work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. In the past, there have been conversations about moving to eight-hour shifts. Tom Ryan, president of the Chicago Firefighters Union, said Wednesday that he hasn’t heard such talk during Emanuel’s budget process.

“As of my conversation with the International Association of Firefighters last week, there are no paid fire departments in the country, large or small, that run with eight hours,” Ryan said. “It’s not economically efficient” because the city would have to hire more firefighters to cover three shifts.

Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, has suggested that consolidating police and fire stations, libraries and schools could save $50 million a year. “We have to look at the ones that are logistically easy to get (first),” he said.

The entire article is HERE.

Tags: Chicago budget shortfall, Chicago Fire Department, cutting the Chicago Fire Department