June 01, 2015
Wayne Parry/AP
Flames leap from the windows of a burning house in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as firefighters lift a hose onto the porch on April 29, 2015.
Dozens of Atlantic City firefighters face layoffs, and the city does not plan to expand a federal grant to save their jobs, The Press of Atlantic City reports.
Under the city's plan, the Fire Department will be cut down by more than 36 percent, from 236 firefighters to 151, including 50 firefighters currently paid under the federal grant.
According to union President Chris Emmell, there is a possibility to expand the grant to include the other 35 firefighters facing layoffs, but “the (business administrator) told our fire administration not to put it in.”
“Given the extremely difficult economic situation we are in, the city has been asking for months for reasonable cost reductions from the union,” Business Administrator Arch Liston told The Press of Atlantic City. “Up to this point, a solution has not been found. That’s why we are in arbitration now and, ultimately, a final decision will be rendered.”
As it stands, the layoff plan goes below the “right-sized” 180-personnel department suggested by the Governor’s Advisory Commission in November. The commission’s report does not indicate how it came to that staffing number.
The numbers also would not properly staff the city under National Fire Protection Association standards, according to a preliminary report the International Association of Fire Fighters had done for the city in March.
The current Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant expires in December. However, if even one firefighter is laid off, the grant will stop.
Read more from The Press of Atlantic City.
