By the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1st, the Syracuse Fire Department has been directed to reduce its on-duty manpower from 69 per shift to 65. This will result in the closure of Engine Company 7 and the relocation of Engine Company 6 to the more centrally-located Station 1, where it will be renamed Engine 1. Rescue Company 1 will then move to the quarters vacated by Engine 6. This realignment will enable us to maintain acceptable response times while meeting the required financial constraints. We hope to have this new deployment plan up and running by June 1st.
There has been a lot of press coverage of the changes, and of course the union opposes any cuts, closures or reductions (as they understandably should). The reality is that there is a looming 18 to 20 million dollar shortfall in the city budget this coming fiscal year, and all city departments are required to make cuts. We are not immune. As a higher-ranking member of the command staff than I was the last time we had this conversation - go up about five posts and back to October 2011 - I have a lot more knowledge and a bit more insight into the way the process works. As more and more fire departments, especially in small to medium-sized cities, face reductions in funding due to diminishing tax revenues, difficult and unpopular choices need to be made. No one is a cheerleader for this plan or for anything that reduces the level of services we provide, but reality demands that you act responsibly and plan accordingly, and we are doing exactly that.
And we move on.
There has been a lot of press coverage of the changes, and of course the union opposes any cuts, closures or reductions (as they understandably should). The reality is that there is a looming 18 to 20 million dollar shortfall in the city budget this coming fiscal year, and all city departments are required to make cuts. We are not immune. As a higher-ranking member of the command staff than I was the last time we had this conversation - go up about five posts and back to October 2011 - I have a lot more knowledge and a bit more insight into the way the process works. As more and more fire departments, especially in small to medium-sized cities, face reductions in funding due to diminishing tax revenues, difficult and unpopular choices need to be made. No one is a cheerleader for this plan or for anything that reduces the level of services we provide, but reality demands that you act responsibly and plan accordingly, and we are doing exactly that.
And we move on.
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