The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — Omaha started sending layoff notices to 19 firefighters Monday as a way to cut costs.
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said in a news release the layoffs were needed because the Fire Department was $6.2 million over its 2013 budget. She said the cuts could be avoided if the firefighters union agreed to change its contract.
The department budget has been a point of contention ever since Stothert took office earlier this year, and the disagreements contributed to the departure of former Fire Chief Mike McDonnell.
The layoffs would affect probationary firefighters who were hired in February, and they would be effective Jan. 4.
“With the layoffs not being effective until January, there is still time to avoid them if the union is willing to come to an agreement,” Stothert said.
The mayor said the city wouldn’t have to lay off firefighters if the union reduced the 2014 paramedic training class from 48 to 12 members. The no-layoff pledge would continue through 2015 if the department stayed within its 2014 budget.
Fire union president Steve LeClair said the union was considering Stothert’s proposal but needed assurances about future staffing.
“We’ve agreed to give the city the tools for the Fire Department to meet its budget in 2014, and in return, we’ve asked for something that’s been categorically rejected,” he said. LeClair wouldn’t discuss what the union has sought in negotiations.
The announcement comes just before McDonnell is scheduled to retire Friday. McDonnell agreed to leave after 24 years of service with a $124,000 pension.
As part of the McDonnell deal, Stothert agreed not to lay off any firefighters or make major cuts to the department until after Dec. 21.
Battalion Chief Bernard Kanger is interim chief while the city searches for a new leader for the department. McDonnell has been on paid administrative leave through the fall.