In a blow to the fire department, the City of Logansport is proposing to cut 10 firefighters’ jobs on Jan. 1, 2010.

Mayor Mike Fincher said that each city department has cut its budget by five percent on two separate occasions this year, but with $5 million of its $8 million revenue stream going toward police and fire protection, he had no choice but to trim the largest portion of the city’s expenditure.

“There isn’t enough in the cuts to make up the reduction in revenue,” Fincher said. “I looked at the situation with the economy, and with the possibility of gang violence and other crime, it had to be the fire department. We had to cut somewhere. I don’t want to go another year like this. ... I don’t like doing this but I had to look at what is more important, police or fire. I hate to do that, but I had no choice.”

Representatives from the police and firefighters unions met Tuesday afternoon to discuss a proposal reached by a consensus of the city council on Monday.

The proposed reductions include caps on paid vacation time dependent on a public safety officer’s time with the city, with two weeks for those with up to five years service to a maximum of four weeks for those with 16 to 20 years.

The city will also offer $5,000 in cash and continue to pay insurance for any public safety official with more than 20 years experience who retires before Dec. 31, 2009. For those who retire after Jan. 1, the city will pay insurance but will not offer any of the premiums.

These offers do not apply to current retirees, widows or those on the drop program.

In total, with 10 layoffs, the proposal reduces the Fire Department’s budget by $465,299 and its personnel to 32. The police department’s budget falls by $123,000, but the department is likely to retain its staff of 38 officers with two presently in the academy.

The firefighters union rejected the city’s proposed four-percent pay increase for city employees.

Mark Strong, president of the Fire Fighters Union, said that the response time of the fire department will be reduced with less men on staff to the detriment of public safety.

“It is hard for us to take a four-percent raise when we are going to be losing men. We’d rather not take the raise and save somebody’s job,” Strong said. “We’ve got guys expecting kids right now, and they are going to be worried about how they’re going to pay for everything. It’s just nuts.”

Strong did express some hope that forming a fire territory between the Logansport Fire Department and neighboring townships might yet solve the its funding problems.

He said that negotiations with Eel Township trustee Tom Knepper are progressing and the department is looking to other trustees to come on board. A meeting in Indianapolis with each of the trustees is planned for Monday, he said.

Fincher said that a fire territory and a Local Option Income Tax are ways in which money might be raised to fund the fire department. But with the county council rejecting the LOIT tax last year, and a fire territory not likely to be taxable until the fall of 2010, they are not solutions he could consider viable to avoid cuts in next year’s budget.

Fincher explained that by rejecting the four-percent pay offer, the firefighters are likely to save the job of one man in the department.

While they rejected the proposal, he felt that he could not deny an increase this year to the city’s civil employees.

“I felt that the civil employees deserved a raise,” Fincher said. “They took a $3,000 hit last year with the change to the health savings account insurance plan so we felt like they deserved something.”

Fincher said Fire Chief Bob McMinn will ultimately decide whether the department will have to close one or both of the city’s sub fire stations when he reorganizes his reduced staff.

With reduced revenue from property tax draws impacting municipal governments across the state, Fincher said Logansport is not alone in looking at the fire department as an area that will have to take a hit.

“Look at other communities,” he said. “Kokomo and Muncie have laid off firefighters, and they are communities bigger than ours. It’s the logical place.”

• Kevin Smith is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5148 or kevin.smith@pharostribune.com