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Morning Lineup – July 9

10 comments

It seems like this has been “Fire Chief Week” for the past two weeks.  Stories about fire chiefs, both good and bad, keep dribbling out on a daily basis, the latest being the vol. chief in rural Virginia who checked himself out after a grand jury passed down 13 indictments for a variety of felony charges (HERE).  Now we’re hearing about a fire chief who is being fired – maybe – for saying “No more” to the mayor’s demand for further budget cuts.

donald-barnes-a-cplaindealer

Chief Donald Barnes

Shaker Heights, Ohio, is an affluent suburb of Cleveland that is in a budget crisis along with many other cities.  The mayor, Earl Leiken had earlier chopped the city’s budget to compensate for some serious tax revenue shortfalls, but he recently called on all the department heads to make further cuts immediately as the deficit continued to grow.  He asked Fire Chief Donald Barnes to lop $250,000 more from the FD’s $8.5 million dollar budget.

But Chief Barnes became an instant-hero in the FRD community by refusing to whittle more away from the already-shrunken budget, including the mayor’s order to lay off an assistant chief and eliminate the position.  “I just can’t professionally or morally do what you have instructed without jeopardizing the health, safety and welfare of our residents and our firefighters,” he wrote to the mayor.

This infuriated the mayor who then summarily “fired” Barnes and appointed one of the assistant chiefs as acting chief.  But Barnes isn’t ready to become a doormat yet.  He has hired a law firm to contest the dismissal, saying that it was unjust.  Firefighter Close Calls, reporting on the situation, says further:

One source claims that the mayor doesn’t give all the details. He doesn’t mention that the only employees that are not taking a pay cut are him, the finance director, and the CAO. The CAO retired and came back as a “civilian” so she gets 2 salaries, her pension and her salary. She makes more than the governor of Ohio. The city she is supposed to be running is in financial trouble and she doesn’t at least take the same pay cut that she decides to force on everyone else in the city is taking. It appears that the 3 people who decide that the employees need to help get the city financially sound by taking a pay cut are the 3 people who can afford to take a pay cut yet they are the only ones who don’t.

Nor did the mayor provide information that the city paid for flower baskets and they pay someone to go around and water the flower baskets.

It looks like this one is going to be fun to watch.  And Hooray for Chief Barnes for putting principle and integrity ahead of political protectionism.  He has been Shaker Heights’ fire chief for seven years.

Now let’s stick to our principles and get this equipment checked out.  I’ll get the coffee started.  See you back in the day room.

buckle-up-leaner

Posted by on July 9, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup
  • http://www.report-on-conditions.blogspot.com/ Joseph Schmoe

    A lot of Chiefs have guts, we just don’t always get to see em. Chief Barnes displayed his guts for all to see.

    After we get the daily checks done, we’ll make sure Chief Barne’s car gets an extra special detailing today. We’ll even go down and buy one of those pina-colada air fresheners that he likes.

    Well done Chief Barnes.

  • http://www.report-on-conditions.blogspot.com Joseph Schmoe

    A lot of Chiefs have guts, we just don’t always get to see em. Chief Barnes displayed his guts for all to see.

    After we get the daily checks done, we’ll make sure Chief Barne’s car gets an extra special detailing today. We’ll even go down and buy one of those pina-colada air fresheners that he likes.

    Well done Chief Barnes.

  • B. Morgan

    Chief Barnes is a living example of political courage. I have known many chiefs who became yes men to political powers just to keep the job and retirement. This guy stood up for the department, community and safety of it’s citizens. The truth can be hard to face, but in the end telling it in simple direct terms is the right thing to do.

  • B. Morgan

    Chief Barnes is a living example of political courage. I have known many chiefs who became yes men to political powers just to keep the job and retirement. This guy stood up for the department, community and safety of it’s citizens. The truth can be hard to face, but in the end telling it in simple direct terms is the right thing to do.

  • Dal90

    One acquaintance is hopeful he’ll make Chief in his small department in a couple years — the major part of that happiness being it will coincide with vesting in their retirment program so he knows he won’t fell my-way-or-your-pension type pressure.

    While the math is a bit different for public sector employees who have strong pension benefits, a large part of our overall malaise is the lack of economic security (a fancy way for saying people have too much debt and too little savings). If most people had 6+ months of cash sitting in the bank, they would feel more comfortable pushing back against idiocracy…and even doing things like asking for a raise.

    Having your financial house in order is the difference between your boss threatening you and your boss daring you.

  • Dal90

    One acquaintance is hopeful he’ll make Chief in his small department in a couple years — the major part of that happiness being it will coincide with vesting in their retirment program so he knows he won’t fell my-way-or-your-pension type pressure.

    While the math is a bit different for public sector employees who have strong pension benefits, a large part of our overall malaise is the lack of economic security (a fancy way for saying people have too much debt and too little savings). If most people had 6+ months of cash sitting in the bank, they would feel more comfortable pushing back against idiocracy…and even doing things like asking for a raise.

    Having your financial house in order is the difference between your boss threatening you and your boss daring you.

  • Anonymous

    It would be interesting — and perhaps educational — to see how many of the politicans demanding cuts from police, fire, and EMS agencies have also cut their own staffs. Granted, I have been out of civil service for a number of years, but “back in the day” cuts were expected everywhere but the office of the mayor, governor and/or commissioner (not necessarily fire commissioner, of course). I worked for a state agency that demanded budget cuts that involved laying off several dozen employees who actually WORKED. Some of the “savings” were used to hire additional staff in the agency commissioner’s office (again, this was not a fire or police commissioner). The new hires, of course, did nothing other than make “the great man” feel greater.

  • http://618rants.blogspot.com Mr618

    It would be interesting — and perhaps educational — to see how many of the politicans demanding cuts from police, fire, and EMS agencies have also cut their own staffs. Granted, I have been out of civil service for a number of years, but “back in the day” cuts were expected everywhere but the office of the mayor, governor and/or commissioner (not necessarily fire commissioner, of course). I worked for a state agency that demanded budget cuts that involved laying off several dozen employees who actually WORKED. Some of the “savings” were used to hire additional staff in the agency commissioner’s office (again, this was not a fire or police commissioner). The new hires, of course, did nothing other than make “the great man” feel greater.

  • Charles Emerson

    Emergency services should always be the last to loose the resources that are required to perform their life saving functions.

    Non essential services (starting with the office of the mayor, the office of the city council, etc) should always be cut to the bone prior to any essential services be touched. Mayors and other elected officials who routinely mis-manage municipalities into financial ruin should be required to work without salary until the financial problems are corrected and the community can once again function normally.

  • Charles Emerson

    Emergency services should always be the last to loose the resources that are required to perform their life saving functions.

    Non essential services (starting with the office of the mayor, the office of the city council, etc) should always be cut to the bone prior to any essential services be touched. Mayors and other elected officials who routinely mis-manage municipalities into financial ruin should be required to work without salary until the financial problems are corrected and the community can once again function normally.