Firefighters' budget cuts are rescinded
DANVILLE – Aldermen moved to restore the fire department back to its current capacity next year – a maneuver that has the proposed budget $310,000 in the red.
Mayor Scott Eisenhauer initially proposed cutting nine firefighters from next year's budget in an effort to offset a projected shortfall.
The city council had a public hearing on the proposed budget Tuesday. Though there were more than 100 people in attendance, fewer than a dozen spoke.
A majority of the comments were against the cuts, including those from Maru Nolan, co-president of the Northeast Neighborhood Group.
"We voted and we all agreed we want to keep these firefighters," she said. "We think it would be shame if you let the firefighters go."
Resident Marshall Farr differed.
"Don't increase my taxes. If you have to lay people off to balance the budget, so be it, but don't increase my taxes," he said.
Alderman Nancy O'Kane asked the council to restore the nine firefighters back to next year's budget with a majority vote.
"We've all given ideas" to raise revenue, and the mayor's "come up with reasons why we can't do it," O'Kane said. "Let him come to us with ideas."
The vote was 9-5. Aldermen Jerry Askren, Dale Brandenburg, Ron Candido, Steve Nichols and Steve Foster opposed the restoration.
"We're procrastinating," Candido said. "We'll be here in six months or one year having the same discussion."
The city is anticipating ending the year with more than $730,000 in reserves.
Though some aldermen suggested using the reserves to postpone the cuts another year while other revenue sources can be found, Nichols said doing so would force the city to borrow money for expenses next year or raise property taxes.
"Every time we lower our cash reserve, we increase chances of borrowing money," he said.
The city ended its 2006-2007 fiscal year with nearly $1 million in reserves, Askren said. The city has lost about $300,000 in reserves over the past year. He said he anticipates more loss in 2008-2009.
Eisenhauer told the council that the proposed cuts were "not about emotion, it's about economics."
By state law, the city council must pass a budget before its new fiscal year, which begins May 1.
Aldermen have to have the final draft of the budget in hand a week before the vote.
Eisenhauer said he could have a revised budget completed by late today to be fair to the people or departments that now may be affected. The fire and police departments are the two largest in the city.
"I felt this was an area where if cuts were to be made, services would not be removed," Eisenhauer said of the fire department.
Aaron Marcott, president of the local firefighters union, said the firefighters would pursue working with city officials in an independent committee this year to raise revenue in the department.
Eisenhauer said the committee should do a complete analysis of both the police and fire department to see where $310,000 would best be spent – keeping the firefighters or hiring nine more police officers.
"To me, I think the question is having the committee look at the two biggest budgets in the city and deciding where are we getting more bang for our buck," he said."