Middletown to lay off 9 firefighters as part of 2012 budget

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - The Middletown City Council voted 3-4 Tuesday night to eliminate nine Middletown firefighter positions as part of the 2012 budget.

The decision came after several citizens spoke to council about the necessity of a fully-staffed fire department.

Councilmember AJ Smith voted against the proposed budget because he says the layoffs will impact the public safety of nearly 50,000 residents and the remaining firefighters and paramedics.

"You better hope if your house catches on fire, that it catches on fire before somebody else's because if your house is the second to catch on fire nobody's going to be there," Smith said.

Some of the layoffs will be addressed through attrition but the others will maybe implemented as early as Jan. 1, said Middletown Firefighters Association President Jon Harvey.

"We're packing up good employees and turning them away, dedicated employees that work hard for the city of Middletown,"  Harvey said.  "It's going to mean longer response times for the citizens of Middletown and less firefighters to do the job."

The six council members were split 3-3, and Mayor Larry Mulligan provided the fourth approving vote.

"We all share those concerns," Mulligan said.  "It is something that we don't take likely at all.  We are going to look at different models of delivery.  We will look towards part-time delivery.  There are a couple different models out there to look at that might be more cost effective."

The budget also calls for the removal of one fire engine, which means only three of the five stations will have a truck.