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Last post 20 years ago by emgjet. 11 replies replies.
Not a Merry Christmas for us in Cleveland
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dz130 Offline
#1 Posted: Thu, Dec 4 2003, 4:50 PM EST
Joined: 08-22-2003
Posts: 781
Just finished sitting on my front porch freezing my ass off toasting my brothers and sisters in our safety forces. Our mayor, Jane Campbell, is laying off over 400 before Christmas to try and balance a $61 mil. budget deficit. Twentyone are from my EMS Division. These people were only hired 7 1/2 months ago, and had 6 months to move into the city to meet our residency requirements! Some of the police and fire fighters have been here for 7 years! Scuttlebutt has it that this may be only the beginning. At 6 1/2 years on the job, I should be safe. But you never know. Most likely, as of tomor. morning, we'll drop from 21 squads to only 16, if we're lucky. I'm just feeling really helpless now. It's my job to provide help, and I can't do sh@t to stop any of this. Thanks for letting me blow off steam.
jazzman Offline
#2 Posted: Thu, Dec 4 2003, 5:11 PM EST
Joined: 11-06-2000
Posts: 1,012
Dz,
I'm a firefighter and former paramedic and I feel your pain and anguish. That really sucks. Not only are people losing jobs, but your job is getting harder. Hopefully your city gets it's financial and other sh*t together soon. Hang in there.
xibbumbero Offline
#3 Posted: Thu, Dec 4 2003, 5:38 PM EST
Joined: 01-25-2002
Posts: 12,535
Sorry to hear that. A tough time of the year as well. Tell eveyone to hang tuff and start putting out applications. X
Homebrew Offline
#4 Posted: Thu, Dec 4 2003, 6:33 PM EST
Joined: 02-11-2003
Posts: 11,885
My Prayers are going out to you, your coworkers and Ya'lls families. Hang tough.
Later
Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)
RICKAMAVEN Offline
#5 Posted: Fri, Dec 5 2003, 1:20 AM EST
Joined: 10-01-2000
Posts: 33,248
i don't have my calculator, but that must make a major dent in the 61 million. boy, were these guys getting paid a fortune.
RICKAMAVEN Offline
#6 Posted: Fri, Dec 5 2003, 1:20 AM EST
Joined: 10-01-2000
Posts: 33,248
did the mayor cut her salary or lay off some of her staff?
tonester666 Offline
#7 Posted: Fri, Dec 5 2003, 4:27 AM EST
Joined: 05-07-2003
Posts: 1,324
DZ, my brother is a fireman/paramedic in the St Louis area. If you stay out of the city jobs there is no residency reqs. They are hiring but you have to complete the St Louis academy.

I wish those guys/gals the best of luck. That is some pissy timing.
xrundog Offline
#8 Posted: Fri, Dec 5 2003, 5:10 AM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
That is a real shame. Probably the result of fiscal irresponsibility. The people doing the budget should be the first to lose their jobs. Police and Firefighters should be the LAST to lose jobs.
dz130 Offline
#9 Posted: Fri, Dec 5 2003, 5:31 PM EST
Joined: 08-22-2003
Posts: 781
The layoffs will only put a small dent in the shortfall. The mayor did take a 10% pay cut. As of now, city council has not, none of her staff has been cut, and many city council members are jetting off to a national cconvention at our expense.
But good news came through late last night. A judge delayed the layoffs for one week to get federal mediators involved. This stuff changes by the hour almost.
JustDanD Offline
#10 Posted: Sat, Dec 6 2003, 5:42 AM EST
Joined: 02-27-2003
Posts: 748
Best of luck for you bretheren. City budgets are strained everywhere, it seems.
donutboy2000 Offline
#11 Posted: Sat, Dec 6 2003, 9:01 AM EST
Joined: 11-20-2001
Posts: 25,000
Please excuse the cut & paste. Seems like politics as usual.

There are new questions about city spending priorities. The mayor's personal trainer, James Bruner, got a job in the water department that pays $18 an hour, despite Bruner being a convicted felon.

The city has 56 more employees than it did before a hiring freeze started and seven city councilmen are going on a trip to a conference in Memphis, Tennessee that will cost $12,000.

The nonprofit group Cops and Kids has set up an account at the Cleveland Police Credit Union to help pay for medical expenses for the pregnant wives and ill children of laid-off Cleveland police officers.

Those interested can send a tax-deductable contribution to

Cleveland Police Credit Union
c/o Cops and Kids
2301 Payne Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44114

emgjet Offline
#12 Posted: Tue, Dec 9 2003, 4:48 AM EST
Joined: 11-28-2001
Posts: 1,231
dz130:

I'm sorry to hear about those layoffs, especially to the Firefighters. Our prayers to you, your friends involved and their families. It's a sad time when people who protect and save our lives while risking theirs, are being laid off. Stay strong!

Ed
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