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Middletown council cuts police, fire jobs

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By Andy Sedlak, Staff Writer Updated 10:31 PM Tuesday, November 29, 2011

MIDDLETOWN — Middletown City Council Tuesday night narrowly approved a 2012 budget that reduces public safety personnel by nine firefighters and seven police employees.

Council signed off on the budget by a vote of 4-3. Mayor Larry Mulligan, and Councilmen Tom Allen, Josh Laubach and Bill Becker favored the 2012 proposal. Councilwoman Anita Scott Jones, and Councilmen A.J. Smith and Dan Picard were in opposition.

The vote cuts Middletown’s budget from $125.9 million this year to $121.7 million in 2012. The city’s general fund will be reduced from approximately $30.6 million to about $28.9 million.

Throughout the budgeting process, speculation surrounded the future of Fire Station 84 on Tytus Avenue. Its closure was an option. However, officials on Tuesday said efforts were underway to keep the station open, but without firefighters.

City Manager Judy Gilleland said she will be meeting with fire Chief Steve Botts in the coming days to discuss the fate of Station 84.

“We will have a more firm answer within a week,” she said.

Jon Harvey, president of Middletown Firefighters Local 336, called efforts to house the station with a two-person medic crew a “shell game.”

“They’re moving fire equipment out and a medic unit in, so citizens in the south end of town are going to require a longer wait to get a medic unit and citizens in the northeast part of the city are going to have no fire protection,” he said.

The reductions in public safety employees next year account for 11 percent of the city’s personnel in the fire department and 6 percent in the police department.

Four police officers will be cut. If not for a federal grant awarded to police in September, the department would have fallen victim to a 9.5 percent cut to its personnel, or four more officers.

While police positions will be filled through attrition, layoffs were necessary in the case of the fire department.

Council’s crowded chambers Tuesday night included about a dozen Middletown firefighters. Originally, there were no plans to hear public comments as the meeting was seen as a continuation of council’s previous meeting on Nov. 15. A motion from Smith to allow public comments, however, passed unanimously.

Sharon Cassidy, of Tytus Avenue, was one of about 10 who asked council to reconsider the public safety cuts. Officials have said fire cuts will impact response times.

“Seconds count when it comes to heart attacks, choking victims, drowning and trauma,” she said.

Council debated a projected $581,000 surplus at the end of 2012. Smith, Picard and Jones questioned whether the city should “bank” that money as public safety budgets are being slashed.

Council members were told that recent state cuts — $3.2 million — take effect over time and a deficit in excess of $1 million is projected in 2013.

Remaining council members have said deeper cuts would need to be made in the next budgeting process, if not the current one.

Moving forward, Mulligan said the city should look at different models to provide services.

“I saw an article — and I think I shared it with most of council — that there was news of local agencies hiring firefighters and EMS responders,” he said. “They’re part-time at $13.50 an hour. That’s much different than the service model we have. I’d encourage us to take a good, hard look at that.”

Also, a public safety levy will go before voters next year. The current quarter-percent income tax is set to expire at the end of 2012. Mulligan said the city will “need to hear from citizens.”

The form and shape of the levy has yet to be decided.

“We could increase (the amount), look at a property tax levy, split police and fire — there are a number of different scenarios,” he said. “We decided it was prudent to (first) focus on this year’s budget and then look to the levy.

“We want to be clear about the message we’re delivering,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or andrew.sedlak@coxohio.com.

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