OUR VIEW: Now residents see fire union dysfunction

Editorials

November 18, 2009

Anonymous The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Wed Nov 18, 2009, 12:54 AM EST

The saga between the city and the fire union took an interesting twist this weekend when a resident, Michael Ulrich, took it upon himself to research how other cities manage fire and ambulance operations and keep costs down.The saga between the city and the fire union took an interesting twist this weekend when a resident, Michael Ulrich, took it upon himself to research how other cities manage fire and ambulance operations and keep costs down.

Ulrich presented his findings to the city. What the fire department would agree to in negotiations is still up for debate.

When it comes to the point where John Q. Public goes out and does his own research, the union members should be ashamed of themselves.

What’s interesting is that a resident learned for himself that this union is purposefully difficult.

Now, everyone involved in the debate has no personal hatred for the men who work for the department, but it’s what they stand for and what they continue to fight for that people can’t fathom.

The public has no sympathy for these guys anymore. It’s to the point where residents are out doing research. No other department is under that type of fire. It’s embarrassing for the city and more for the department.

We’re not sure if the idea is workable or not, but it’s good to see something presented. It should be a wakeup call. It sounds appealing; whether it’s workable or doable, no one knows, but that’s for the Common Council to decide.

There are some things that should be in place now: Centralized dispatch should be in place and the city leaders need to decide if the ambulance service truly is profitable. If it’s not, it needs to be privatized.

We’ll say it again: The firefighters and the union as a whole are not thinking about their city or the taxpayers who foot their enormous bill.

They are not in reality. They can create an “I support the Lockport firefighters” group on Facebook and find support in corners of the city, but in the end, the residents are looking at their tax bill, and the reasons it keeps going up point to the firefighters as a huge contributing factor.

Residents are seeing it and their patience is apparently up.

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