The obvious reason that no layoffs were announced (and the city’s budget “crisis” was kept hush hush) was to help ensure a Rick Gray reelection 4 days later. Announcement of layoffs prior to the election would have guaranteed a Smithgall victory.
And regardless of what people believe Smithgall would have done, we are now faced with what Rick Gray is doing RIGHT NOW.
Certainly, Lancaster’s budget issue is serious, but several people have demonstrated that there is clearly enough money in the general fund budget to keep 4 firefighters on the job.
Rick Gray has made it his mission to reduce the Fire Bureau by as many firefighters as possible. Whether Lancaster has a budget deficit or a budget surplus, the tasks firefighters must perform on the scene of an emergency remain the same. Staffing cutbacks place life and property in danger, all to “save a buck.”
Are the lives of a family, a child or a firefighter really worth the risks this administration is making us all take?
