Excerpts from sj-r.com:
Nearly half of the Springfield Fire Department’s operating budget was slashed Tuesday and the Springfield City Council added on eight amendments that directly affected the Fiscal Year 2022 corporate fund budget before giving its final approval on a 9-1 vote.
That vote capped a nearly four-and-a-half-hour evening that started with a Committee of the Whole meeting then went to a public hearing session before the special city council meeting. Aldermen trimmed $1.4 million from the fire department on a 6-4 vote. Later, a proposal to restore $500,000 in overtime pay was defeated in an 8-2 vote.
“The cut, I don’t know if it’s overcome-able without sending people home,” Fire Chief Brandon Blough said, referring to layoffs. “I think that was probably why that number was set. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep everybody at work. But they’ve put the fire department in a position where it’s going to be really hard. Over 90 percent of (the department’s $41.5 million budget) is personnel costs, so I don’t know where $1.4 million is going to come from.”
The $3 million in operating costs, Blough explained, is for things like diesel fuel for trucks, keeping the lights on in fire houses, and buying medical supplies.
More than a dozen firefighters filled seats in city council chambers in a show of support. Earlier, Vince Zummo, the new president of the local firefighters union, made an impassioned plea for the city administration and union to enter into a new era of trust.
