Plan to Cut Firefighters Delayed

The Austin City Manager is delaying a plan to reduce the number of firefighters on some trucks from four to three.
Marc Ott announced the plan last Thursday as part of the city's overall efforts to close a $20 million dollar budget shortfall.  Reducing firefighter staffing from four to three is estimated to save the AFD about $200,000 in overtime costs.

On Thursday Ott sent a memo to the mayor and council saying the AFD cuts would be delayed to allow for more public input and the consideration of alternatives. Ott says he will decide in the next two to three weeks on whether to move forward with fire truck staffing cuts.

"Make no mistake, AFD will participate in our efforts to reduce overall expenditures," Ott said during a press conference Thursday.

Ott has been feeling pressure all week. Council members Lee Leffingwell, Mike Martinez and Laura Morrison all criticized the plan this week saying reducing firefighters could hurt public safety. Thursday morning the Austin Firefighter's Union held a press conference at City Hall calling on the city to find other cuts. Firefighters say reduced staffing has a negative impact on their ability to put out fires and rescue potential victims.

"It doesn't make sense to cut core services right now," said Stephen Truesdell, President of the Austin Firefighter's Union.

Some alternatives discussed include redeploying firefighters with desk jobs back on to fire trucks and transferring funds from the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Department to the AFD. Economic Growth has money set aside for firefighter education and Truesdell says that money could be better spent on preserving four person staffing.