By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee joined forces Wednesday to discuss ways municipalities can adequately staff their fire departments without breaking the bank.
Elorza’s administration came under fire after he proposed cutting down on shift platoons at Providence fire stations in order to close a projected budget deficit in the city.
“If we do nothing by year 2021 we’re going to find ourselves with a $90 million deficit,” said Elorza.
The Lieutenant Governor came to the defense of Elorza after a handful of Providence State Representative introduced legislation placing staffing and shift decisions into the realm of collective bargaining. In a letter to House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, McKee urged state leadership to preserve municipalities’ rights to manage their services.
“By stripping away our ability to freely manage a platoon structure in our respective departments, the General Assembly will be removing an essential method for controlling costs,” wrote McKee.
Elorza says the current platton model is outdated and needs to be addressed so the money can be better spent elsewhere.
“Every single day in Providence, we pay more in only-overtime-dollars than we pay to educate a child in our schools every year,” said Elorza “That’s unsustainable.”
The Providence Firefighters’ union calls the move an attack on the hard working middle class of the city.
