Fire Chief Mosby addresses cuts
EL DORADO — City budget cuts for 2017 have not affected services provided by the fire department or the safety of the city, Fire Chief Chad Mosby told members of the El Dorado Civil Service Commission on Monday.
Mosby made the comments as commissioners discussed plans to schedule a special called meeting to find ways to improve the lines of communication between city government officials, the fire chief, and local media.
The group was acting on a request by Mayor Frank Hash to conduct a formal investigation into information provided that was by Mosby and included in a series of articles that recently appeared in the El Dorado News-Times regarding city budget cuts and their affect on staffing and services provided by the fire department. Mosby and other officers from the El Dorado Fire Department were quoted in the articles, and on Monday, civil service commissioners and Mosby said the articles led to a misunderstanding between the public, the mayor, city council members and the fire department.
Commissioners homed in on headlines that ran with the stories, particularly a headline on March 14 that read, ‘Fire Department budget cuts affect city’s safety’.
Scott Ellen, chairman of the Civil Service Commission, said city officials have received calls from citizens expressing concern about the issue in light of earlier comments from the city’s finance committee, who said cost-cutting measures to meet a $1 million revenue shortfall in the 2017 city budget would not affect city personnel or services.
“We didn’t cut equipment, personnel or training. The parts of the budget we cut dealt with overhead, utilities, maintenance — along those lines,” Police Chief Billy White said on Monday.
Mosby said the fire department took similar measures, with the exception of a reduction in daily minimum staffing for fire department shifts.
Per a direct recommendation by the finance committee, Mosby said the fire department reduced minimum staff requirements per shift from 13 to 12 to cut down on over-ttime pay. The fire department’s personnel roster cut from 51 to 50 due to a decision not fill a vacant position in 2017.
“What the public should know is if they call the fire department … if you call for a fire truck or an ambulance, you’ll get one,” Mosby said.
“Our response time was less than five minutes before the budget cuts, and it’s less than five minutes now,” he continued.
Should multiple emergencies occur around the same time, Mosby said off-duty firefighters and EMTs will be called into work to respond to the incidents.
“The mayor and finance committee have taken a lot of heat — and I’ve taken a lot of heat — from the public and other areas,” Mosby said.
In an email to Ellen last week, Hash noted “repeated public pronouncements” by Mosby “via (the) press, television (news) and (Facebook)” have created “public alarm.”
Further, Hash contended that because Mosby did not consult with city officials before speaking with the media, “these acts could warrant dismissal and/or strong disciplinary actions,” and the issue requires the “full and immediate attention” from the civil service commission.
Mosby said he did not post any such information on either the fire department’s or his personal Facebook page.
He noted that the EFD’s Facebook page is used to disseminate information to the public, such as areas to avoid if crews are fighting a fire or if a tree has fallen across the road.
“Those are the only two Facebook pages that I can control,” Mosby said.
Commissioner Calvin Leveritt asked if the commission would be encroaching on issues dealing with Mosby’s Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech.
Ellen said that as chief of the fire department, Mosby is authorized to speak publicly on behalf of the department.
Ellen reiterated that Civil Service Commission has been charged with the task of investigating the issue further and exploring ways to improve communication between city officials and departments.
Commissioners will schedule a special called meeting when they convene at 9 a.m. on April 6 to certify the results of upcoming Civil Service exams for the police and fire departments. The exams are set for April 3, 4, and 5.