Firefighters protest planned Milwaukee cuts
More than 200 firefighters from across Wisconsin rallied in support of the Milwaukee Fire Department, which is facing steep cuts in Mayor Tom Barrett’s proposed budget.
The firefighters marched to City Hall Tuesday, chanting, “Save lives, no cuts” and holding signs with the same message.
Six of the department’s 36 fire stations are slated to close under Barrett’s 2018 budget proposal and 75 firefighter jobs will be cut, though no layoffs will occur. The Fire Department will continue to use three of those six stations for other purposes but will not staff fire equipment there.
The cuts are “unacceptable,” said David Seager, president of the Milwaukee Professional Fire Fighters Local 215.
“It will increase response times,” he said. “It will compromise the safety and well-being of the citizens of Milwaukee.”
Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin, called upon Milwaukee to make sure enough resources were provided to ensure firefighter safety.
“We cannot be at our best if we do not have adequate staffing,” he said. “We cannot save other lives without having a brother or sister right next to us to do the same.”
The stations targeted to close are at 100 W. Virginia St.; 1313 W. Reservoir Ave.; 1693 N. Franklin Place; 300 S. 84th St.; 424 N. 30th St.; and 2400 S. 8th St.
The engines that will be taken out of commission were neither the least busy, nor most busy, in the city in 2016, according to the department’s 2016 annual report.
Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing has said his staff used software to analyze historical data about calls for service and determine which stations could be closed with minimal effect to response times and services.
Barrett has said this was not the budget he wanted to present and blamed the cuts on ballooning pension costs.
During the next five-year plan, the city’s spending is expected to jump to $83 million and Barrett has said 93% of that increase is attributable to police and fire pension costs.
But the three aldermen at the rally Tuesday — Alds. Bob Donovan, Tony Zielinski and Mark Borkowski — pointed to a different reason for the city’s money woes: the Milwaukee Streetcar.
The streetcar construction is being funded with federal grants and money from Milwaukee tax financing districts. And on Friday, Barrett announced the city and the Forest County Potawatomi Community have agreed to a $10 million deal to support operating costs. The sponsorship runs for 12 years.
Still, Zielinski accused Barrett on Tuesday of “hiding” money in the budget for the streetcar.
Barrett had planned to use up to $315,000 from the city’s parking fund for streetcar operations in 2018, but said that would not be needed now because of the sponsorship.
Another $208,000 in city parking funds was slated for two streetcar-related positions and Zielinski had proposed moving that money instead to the Police Department to pay for more officers.