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Harrisburg Mayor Blindsides Her Fire Chief

5 comments

Mayor Thompson (Patriot-News photo)

PENNSYLVANIA’S STATE CAPITAL, HARRISBURG HAS 50,000 people domiciled in its 8-sq.-mile area and is protected by four fire stations and a total of only 16 firefighters on duty.  Like many other cities, Harrisburg has been suffering financial distress recently and the precarious state of its ability to function was further shaken last week when Mayor Linda Thompson made a deliberate decision to default on an upcoming bond debt payment.

The bond is question is a $288 million loan for an incinerator project and a debt payment of $3.29 million is due on September 15.  Mayor Thompson said last week that her unilateral decision to renege on the debt payment is a direct result of the City Council’s February rejection of her budget proposals to raise property taxes and water rates.  She added at the time, “I cannot shut down fire. I can’t shut down public safety. If I can’t make a bond payment, there are measures set up in those agreements to guarantee reimbursement (to bondholders). And that was the decision we made. …”

However, the mayor announced yesterday (Thursday) that she will have to lay off more city workers and close a fire station in order to close a $4.1 million budget gap that has nothing to do with the debt crisis.  This stunning reversal in just one week caught the city council by surprise and blindsided the fire chief, who was appointed by Thompson.  Thursday night the city council’s public safety committee held a meeting and invited the fire chief along with the firefighters’ union president to testify.  Their responses are documented in the video report from WHP-TV Ch. 21:

The bond debt default moves the city closer to bankruptcy and some council members have already publicly asked for considerations into exploring the action.  If they fail to make the debt payment next week, they will most likely be unable to borrow any funds for anything afterwards.

Posted by on September 10, 2010 • Filed under: Fire-ology, Funding & Staffing, Videos
  • Nate Q.

    Craziness. Once again, another FD becomes the sacrificial lamb for poor financial planning. While it may sound like he was taking it to the extreme, the union boss gave it straight and to the point. It’s what they need to hear. If they continue to play off our commitment to getting the job done, despite less and less resource, that extreme will likely play out.

  • John Mitchell

    16 guys and 1 officer for the state’s capitol? Sounds a little lonely out there…

  • HFBFF

    This fire chief was not blindsided by anything but the strength of the Local. He has known about the closures and layoff as early as the beginning of July (and more than likey in June) and has been a major player in the process. He is not for the firefighters and is doing just what the Mayor hired him to do. It is to bad but his last FD said the do not want him back “our gain is your loss” one brother from Conn. stated. Geezer do some more homewwork, on Friday Sept 10 one local station (Ch8) had the city admin. dime him out on TV that he has known all along. At least one FD gained by him leaving.

  • Gerald_britton

    This is a perfect example of poloiticians efforts to save themselves, with no concerns for the citizens or the personel that protect them.

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