Flanagan warns Fall River firefighters of potential layoffs amid budget crunch

Herald News Photo | Dave Souza

Jo C. Goode
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Feb. 28, 2014

FALL RIVER — Mayor Will Flanagan delivered tough news to city firefighters Friday, warning that staffing must be reduced by nearly 30 percent as result of the expiration of the SAFER grant and an uncertain fiscal climate in fiscal 2015.

“This is the most difficult discussion I’ve had in my tenure as mayor,” Flanagan said.

To Jason Burns, president of the firefighters Local 1314, Flanagan’s move to drastically downsize the fire department is not only a shock but “catastrophic,” and he said the fiscal issues are not something that crept up on the city.

“The problems of the city are being solved at the expense of the fire department,” Burns said. “Where is the shared responsibility?”

The SAFER grant expires the second week in July.

Flanagan met with union representatives at 9:30 a.m.

The administration’s original plan going into fiscal 2015 was to have staffing at the fire department at 200 from its present number of 213. In reality, Flanagan said, if the firefighters don’t accept a list of concessions, that number will drop to 153 — a loss of 60 firefighters.

“The budget will not allow for 200 firefighters,” Flanagan said.

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