Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 13, 1993 TAG: 9306140108
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
After an unusual, 2 1/2-hour, 7 a.m., closed-door meeting, City Council voted unanimously Saturday to restore three of four engineers' positions it cut from the Fire Department's staffing budget in April.
"A whole lot more secure" was how firefighter Lee Simpkins said he felt about the move Saturday. "They made the right decision for fire protection in the city of Radford," he said.
His colleague Graham Wickline said he was "real pleased." He credited the efforts of volunteers and a petition drive with helping to change council's mind.
"I'm thrilled," said Doug Mitchell. "Real good things are going to come out of this."
Based on their seniority within the department, Simpkins, Wickline and Mitchell were to have been dropped from the department's roster effective Jan. 1, 1994. Another firefighter, who is on disability, still will not be replaced.
The city had hoped to take up the slack by expanding the number of volunteer firefighters from 35 to 50. Officials had estimated the cuts would save the city $120,000 a year.
Council on Saturday also authorized the city manager to develop an "optimal organization of paid and volunteer" fire department personnel. The city now will have a paid fire department staff of six engineers plus Chief Calvin "Cabby" Whitt.
Councilman David Worrell, who voted against the fire department cuts in April, said he was "very, very happy" that three positions had been restored.
Also pleased was the person behind a low-key petition drive that had collected an estimated 500-600 signatures of people who wanted council to reconsider the cuts.
"It kind of renews my faith in city government," said the petition drive organizer, a relative of a city firefighter not affected by the cuts, who has requested anonymity.
Sam Bell, president of the volunteer Radford Fire and Rescue Inc., called Saturday's action "a real positive step."
"The health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this city has to come first," he said.
Council's decision to go into a closed session to discuss "personnel and organization of the fire department" at Saturday's meeting drew an objection from a Roanoke Times & World-News reporter, who cited the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
The act permits discussion of situations involving specific personnel but does not permit closed sessions to discuss general staffing and organization. A meeting agenda, hastily compiled at a reporter's request, stated the meeting would "consider personnel, fire department [and] volunteers."
No specific personnel were mentioned in either council action. After reconvening in open session, council members voted unanimously to certify "to the best of the knowledge of the members present" that they had not discussed anything inappropriate for an executive session.
City Attorney John "Bunny" Spiers was not at Saturday's meeting and was unavailable for comment.
by CNB