Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993 TAG: 9305010052
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Doug Mitchell also said Thursday he believes council's action, intended to save money, could create a dangerous situation.
"The point isn't that they need 25 more people, it's that they need people to replace us as engineers," he said. He predicted that would take much longer than eight months.
"You have to understand firefighting before you can operate the truck," he said. Safety could be compromised "if you don't understand what's going on at the end of the hose."
City Manager Bob Asbury said Thursday that he's focusing on how to get the job done with the remaining paid personnel and volunteers.
Asbury estimated the city would save almost $120,000 a year by cutting the four positions.
He also said he did not anticipate layoffs elsewhere in city government, but added there could be reductions through attrition in some city departments.
"There is no hidden agenda here to reduce," he said, adding that the budget is "dynamic," and that economic conditions still could dictate otherwise.
Fire Chief Calvin "Cabby" Whitt has said that among current volunteers "a grand total of zero" have agreed to accept the extended-duty tours the new staffing system would require.
Whitt said Friday he was still working up costs of training and equipping additional volunteers.
Mitchell, a 15-year veteran fire department engineer, learned Tuesday that his position and three others would be cut from the fire department's paid roster, effective Jan. 1. The cuts, which leave three paid engineers plus Whitt, were made by seniority.
A fourth employee on disability will not be replaced.
Mitchell said the new, unpaid members would be responsible for the lives of their fellow firefighters.
"A lot of volunteers don't want that kind of responsibility," he added.
Mitchell said council's action eliminated "three of the best, most dedicated members," with a total of 60 years' experience.
He said he and his colleagues were "devastated by losing our jobs," and they hoped council would reconsider.
Council has authorized the department to increase the number of volunteers from 35 to 50 to take up the slack. Whitt said of the 35 volunteers on paper, 26 are active.
David Worrell, a former volunteer firefighter and the only council member voting against the new manpower schedule Monday, said council "may have overstepped its bounds" in making the cuts, since council is "supposed to be a policy-making body," not an administrative one.
"I would certainly hope and pray that they do revisit the issue," he said.
Worrell also agreed with Mitchell that there's not enough time to train the new firefighters between now and January.
Worrell said that, while he believes it's possible to provide adequate fire protection with fewer than six full-time paid firefighters, council should have consulted with Whitt before it acted.
"I think it was very bad that this was not done," he said.
by CNB