Fire Department Talks About Layoffs

The Metro Fire chief says even though the tight budget year will cause the elimination of 19 positions, he’ll only have to lay off 4 people.

Fire Chief Stephen Halford told a specially-called meeting of the Metro Council today that the rest of the $700,000 dollars in budget savings from his department can be achieved by demoting staff.

“The fire department is no different than any other Metro Department only in the sense that we have a higher priority because we’re public safety. Many of the other departments face significantly more issues and rollbacks and whatever else than we do, so we feel fortunate.”

Of the 19 positions being affected, nearly half are filled by women or African Americans. Halford says selection of which positions to roll back or eliminate is based on rank, meaning the most senior employees have a better shot at keeping their jobs and pay levels.

Council members questioned the department’s overtime budget which is expected to be nearly $5 million next year. They asked Halford repeatedly whether it wouldn’t be better to keep staff rather than use more overtime, possibly setting the stage for the department’s actual budget hearing next week.