City Council made good on their promise to firefighters to give them a chance to address the appropriations committee on the importance of maintaining the city's safety forces and avoid the coming layoffs in the fire department..
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Captain Jeff Rampe of the Findlay Fire Department began a power point presentation that demonstrated what it takes to fight a fire, the positive growth in the city and two stories from two different families where loved ones were saved by a firefighter. Mayor Lydia Mihalik commented that the closure of Station #4 and the proposed 20 layoffs is not an easy decision considering the uncertainty of sustainable growth..
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While the mayor said she is not opposed to reviewing the decision based on where the city is financially, the timeline for layoffs continues to be May. Mayor Mihalik said the administration will look at the numbers before the layoffs occur.
Despite the firefighters characterization of the city's carryover balance at the end of 2012 and the impassioned testimony of the two families, the Mayor and members of council continued to maintain that the extra revenue was due to belt tightening and that the quarter percent income tax was defeated despite informing the citizens of what would happen. Even with the extra revenue, the city auditor's projection of income and expenses as of the end of February shows an over $1.65 million deficit. That deficit shrinks the carryover from $8.4 down to $6.8 million.
