Monday, I wrote about the planned budget cuts leading to layoffs in my city's police and fire departments. Long story short, the mayor decided the best way to balance the budget was to lay off firefighters and police officers in double-digit percentages. It's all about making firefighters, police officers, and ultimately the homeowners of our city pay, possibly with their lives.
Tuesday was the big day. That afternoon, the firefighters' union, IAFF local 1267, had an informational picket outside city hall. That night was the big city council meeting regarding the layoffs. Things at the meeting didn't go so well. Not well at all, in fact.
More after the jump.
First off, at noon today about 40 firefighters and their friends and family, and other firefighters from surrounding communities (and some not-so-surrounding communities as well) had an informational picket outside North Olmsted City Hall. City Hall fronts on two roads, one busy, one not so busy. The guys were set up on the busiest road, and got tons and tons of horn-honks. At 3pm, when I was walking around up there, it was 24 degrees out, and windy.
Here are some pics:
This is Carl, a North Olmsted firefighter and the picket's Guy With The Megaphone. He's a good guy, very dedicated to finding a solution to the budget crunch that doesn't jeopardize citizens' safety, nor that of firefighters or police officers.
Firefighters from Elyria, Rocky River, and Bedford Heights were there when I walked up to check things out on the picket line. None of these cities share borders with North Olmsted, and the nearest is more than 5 miles away. Bedford Heights is actually more like 30 miles away, but guys still came to show support, which was awesome.
Some of the firefighters lined along Lorain Road, in front of City Hall.
More firefighters.
And more still.
These guys are really dedicated to find a solution to the problem, which is understandable considering how the risks they face on the job increase as the number of firefighters working a fire decrease. They have talked to the media (which hasn't seemed to be all that interested in the story beyond a few web posts). They flyered neighborhoods trying to drum up attendance at the meeting. They've been in touch with their federal, state and city council reps. They stood out there for hours today in the freezing cold, cheerful and smiling and encouraged by every honk of a horn. They're polite, down-to-earth guys whose lives stand to get a lot more difficult in the next few weeks, if the layoffs go through. When I left home to go to the City Council meeting, at 7:30, the firefighters were still outside, in freezing rain and snow.
At the City Council meeting, the atmosphere was tense and the council chamber was very crowded. There were at least 120 people present, and I'm not sure that chamber has ever had so many people in it. They were lining the walls and lined up out into the hallway outside. There were firefighters, police officers, and TV cameras from at least two TV stations. There were dozens of concerned citizens. There was, from the moment I walked in, a general sense of disbelief that the city actually intended to go through with the layoffs, of hope that things might work out, and of anger that our safety didn't seem to be as important to the Mayor and Council as leaf removal or the rec center.
The council meeting started more or less on time, and there were the usual things: the pledge of allegiance, the Mayor's report, the department reports, committee reports. The Council went into executive session with the Mayor about twenty minutes into the meeting, which had never happened at a council meeting I had been at, and at least was something to talk about with my benchmates while we waited for the really important issue: the layoffs. A half-hour later, just before 9pm, the Council and mayor came back and sat down again, and the address-the-Council session began.
As became very clear once the I-have-an-issue-to-address portion of the meeting got underway, there was also a sense that the Mayor was largely to blame for the layoffs. Quite a few people were anything but shy about voicing their opinions on that issue. By the halfway point of the meeting, I have to admit I was in sympathy with them. His manner is pretty pompous, and he has this habit of laughing softly when people criticize him or his policies that is maddening. It was a high-tension evening, and emotions were high, and his mannerisms and tone were not helping anything.
About 10 minutes into the public addresses, the chairman of the Finance Committee spoke. He informed the audience that the issue was not whether to lay off the 5 firefighters and 5 police officers; that had already been decided. The issue was whether or not to decrease a tax credit for people who lived in the city but worked elsewhere. This was clearly news to the firefighters and policemen in the crowd. It was clearly news to everyone, frankly, but the City Council and the Mayor. The announcement didn't stop people from speaking their minds, though. They really let the Council, and especially the Mayor, have it, both barrels.
There were about 30 people who spoke. Most of them had very good points to make, and got loud applause every time they made one. Firefighters and cops spoke, including some of the 10 who received their layoff letters in the mail just before Thanksgiving (Happy Holidays, right?). They hammered home increased response times and the way tough economic times increase both crime and fire emergencies. They spoke well, and pointed out that public safety cuts are not financially rewarding, even in the short term. They pointed out that the Mayor and his administration, and the Council, were playing at dice with our city's safety, and that was a gamble we couldn't afford.
People who weren't firefighters and cops spoke; they did so to show support for our police and fire departments, and to beg the Council not to risk our safety as though it was a simple business decision. They pointed out the many ways our police officers and firefighters weren't just a line item in a budget, and how their loss would affect the community as a whole. They suggested ways to cut the budget that the citizens of our city would find acceptable.
None of it mattered. I wish I could say something happier, but I'm just too discouraged. As it happens, the way our fire and police department budgets work is, their money comes out of the General Fund. There is no Safety Fund or Fire Department Fund or Police Fund. There's just a General Fund. That's the fund that all the specifically-budgeted funds (like the solid waste and recycling fund, and the parks and recreation fund) look to when there's a budget shortfall in their area. So basically, the General Fund is a sort of slush fund where anyone who overspends can get more cash in a crunch.
All except our public safety officers, who are apparently at the bottom of the barrel and therefore screwed. Goodbye, 11% of the fire department. Goodbye, 10% of the police department. You're not a priority, and therefore, you're out of here. Everyone buy some buckets, ladders, and long hoses. And get a gun, bullets, and handcuffs, too. You're going to need them in North Olmsted OH, after midnight on 1/1/09.