East St. Louis Informational Picket Tomorrow

From www.bnd.com

The East St. Louis Financial Advisory Authority is expected to vote on the city’s proposed budget Monday afternoon, including whether the city will be allowed to lay off 11 full-time firefighters.

The Financial Advisory Authority meeting will be held at 3 p.m. at the Kenneth Hall Regional Building near City Hall. Firefighters and other concerned citizens are planning to hold an informational picket from noon until the beginning of the meeting at 301 River Park Drive.

If the authority passes the budget as it is proposed, the city will lose 11 firefighters and two currently vacant positions will remain unfilled. If the authority does not pass the budget as proposed by the city, the firefighters will keep their jobs until the city presents another budget proposal to the authority.

East St. Louis Fire Chief William Fennoy talks about the cuts to the fire department as East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. listens. – Derik Holtmann/BND

If the cuts are approved by the Financial Advisory Authority the layoffs would take effect on Oct. 1.

The cuts, which would trim $1.08 million from the city’s budget, would leave the city with 42 full-time firefighters, according to International Association of Firefighters Union Local 23 President Lt. Jason Blackmon. The union contract calls for 58 firefighters.

"We are concerned about the safety of our citizens," Blackmon said. "We have an older community and a lot of people are not insured. We are concerned about the closing of the 1700 Lincoln Ave. firehouse and the impact it will have on the safety of our citizens."

The East St. Louis firefighter’s union launched a radio and television informative ad campaign to try to convey the concerns it has about losing 13 positions. Fire Chief William H. Fennoy warned that the reduction amounts to the loss of an entire shift of firefighters.

"We couldn’t get the city leaders to understand our perspective on safety," Blackmon said. "We are running the ad to try to inform our citizens about our concerns for their safety. Right now we have over 1,200 runs at this point in the year and we haven’t even made it to October yet."

If the layoffs take place the firefighters would be eliminated according to seniority, Blackmon said.

"It would take us all the way back to the last person hired in August 2000," he said. "It takes seven years for our firefighters to be vested into the pension and nine of the 11 are already vested."

Also on Fire Daily…

• Umm, Not So Fast East St. Louis – September 22, 2009
• There. We admitted it. So what? – November 10, 2009
• Sleight of Hand in Franklin Park, IL? – January 19, 2010
• 360 Burn Size-up of the Fire Web 12/1/2009 – December 1, 2009

Share on Facebook