Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Firefighter Lay Off a Horrible Mistake

It is a rare thing for me to agree with the Union, but in the case of the Firefighters being laid off; I am in complete agreement. City Council has made a huge mistake in voting down a plan that would allow 4 Firefighters to stay on the job. I understand that we need to tighten our belts. Most everyone has experienced it in our personal lives. However, there are certain things you can’t cut; utilities, for instance. In today’s day and age we have to have water, gas, and electric. We also have to have food to survive. The Fire Department is the food and utilities of Lorain.

The Lorain Fire Department was stretched thin to begin with. Councilman Drwal said last night he thought this meant more stations will have to shut down. What will happen if more stations are shut down? Fires that may have been easily extinguished by a neighborhood fire station will now turn into a major fire, because of the length of time it will take to respond. How many more lives will be lost now because there are not enough Fire Fighters to rescue a victim?

Union President Jonathan George said he thinks negotiations between the Union and City Council are done. In this case, that is a very bad thing. From everything I have read the Union has bent over backwards to accommodate City Council’s requests. This situation is much too critical for the parties involved to stop talking. This is not the time to play politics.

I have contacted some members of City Council to give them an opportunity to tell their side of the story, and just before I was about to publish this post, Ward 2 Councilman Andy Drywal called me to respond to last night's vote. He mostly reiterated what he said after the vote last night. He does believe that it will mean the closing of more stations. When I asked him; Do you think this was some sort of political move by council? He said, "I'm new to politics, but this does not benefit the citizens of Lorain." He also said, "this was not an issue of money, the same thing was done last year" I will leave it to the investigative reporters to prove or disprove that statement.

It is this Blogger's opinion that if this was a political move-----It backfired! If you look at the responses to the the article about the vote in The Morning Journal, you will understand what I mean.
I want to formerly invite all parties involved, (i.e. any City Council member, Union President, The Mayor) to call me, or better yet, sit down with me in front of a camera and talk about why you voted the way you did. I would love to hear what you have to say, and I’m sure the citizens of Lorain would also. You can contact me at 440-465-4630 or ksalisbury42@hotmail.com

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