By Sabina Bhasin
The Naples Daily News
EAST NAPLES, Fla. — East Naples Interim Fire Chief Keith Teague defended himself Tuesday against allegations he is deliberately endangering the public by allowing station closures and lying about the need for unpaid furloughs as his fire district struggles to remain afloat amid a $3 million budget deficit.
“The reality is, we have less than $4 million in reserves,” Teague said. “We are not going to balance a budget on reserves.”
Chris Tobin, president of the Collier Professional Firefighters and Paramedics union, wrote in a letter Monday to the East Naples Fire Board that Teague closed one of the busiest stations in the district in an effort to save money. Tobin also called Teague’s furlough plan a ploy to convince the public the crisis was caused by the union’s position in collective bargaining talks.
After Tuesday night’s commission meeting, Teague fired back.
“If we don’t start making changes now to reduce our debt,” Teague said, “we will be out of business in a year in a half.”
Teague said the decision to close Station 22 on Bayshore Drive for one day was made because it is the second slowest station of the five in the district. Teague said closing the station for a day did not put the public at risk, as Tobin claimed.
Teague said his books are open for anyone to see as proof.
Also, Teague said everyone on staff is taking the unpaid furloughs, including himself. He said fire commissioners are also taking a cut out of their monthly stipend to save the district money, contrary to Tobin’s claims the cuts are only affecting the firefighters.
“If it takes a 20 percent pay cut, I will take a 20 percent pay cut,” said Teague, who is eligible for retirement but is choosing to stay in the district as long as it allows him to do so to help “fix the district.”
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