When mayor Greg Goodnight cut 12 firefighters two weeks ago, the union took to the streets to inform citizens of their belief that public safety had been compromised. But the cuts may not be over.

Goodnight stated last week that the city's revenue position is weak; if it doesn't improve, there may be more firefighters and other city employees out of work.

"There are so many variables," said Goodnight. "It's reaching an agreement on cost-sharing for services with (Center Township trustee Jean Lushin). We still have no guarantee that Chrysler is going to pay their property taxes for their spring installment. We're going to have to make some really big changes. It's not just firemen.

"The lay-offs were because of the ambulance service. I can't rule out lay-offs in any department. Absolutely, it's a real possibility."

The mayor made this statement days after Lushin alleged that he had been "threatened" with more firefighter lay-offs if he did not agree to the city's demands on cost sharing. Goodnight said he did not threaten Lushin.

"It's funny; people can say things to me all the time," said Goodnight. "If (former) fire chief (Scott) Kern says to me he's going to resign if his demands aren't met, is that a threat? It depends on your definition. It might just be that he's stating the facts. If Jean Lushin says if we want more money from him, he'll pull his fire equipment, is that a threat? Or is he just telling me where his bottom line is?

"Using his definition of threat, I probably get threatened many times a day. I really don't have time to dissect it and make too much of it."

The number of firefighters that would be affected by additional lay-offs is not known, but rumors have placed the range from six to as many as 25. Goodnight said 25 firefighters is not a realistic number and never has been discussed, but he was reluctant to put a limit on the number that might be laid-off.

"I don't know what the bottom line is," said Goodnight. "There are other communities right here in Indiana that have all volunteers. Crown Point is one of them. I was just out in Connecticut, and an area that has about 23,000 people is covered by three volunteer fire stations.

"We don't want to do that. We're trying the best we can to provide services, but we still have to pay our bills. We are at the point now where we may have to borrow money in the next month or two to make payroll. It depends on when our property tax money comes in."

When it comes to lay-offs outside of the fire department, Goodnight expressed an unwillingness to do so. In the cases of the Fraternal Order of Police and the AFSCME workers, both unions have no lay-off clauses in their contracts that he intends to honor. Instead, the mayor proposed that voluntary lay-offs and reduced work schedules might be used to ease the burden while keeping people employed.

There is no timetable for when additional lay-offs night happen, and if the city's spring property tax draw arrives on time and on target, there may be no additional lay-offs. Regardless, the lay-offs that have taken place do not jeopardize public safety, Goodnight said.

"We have the same number of stations. We have the same number of firefighters manning trucks, and we have the same number of trucks out and rolling except for the ambulance," said Goodnight. "Would I love to have an ambulance inside of every fire station? Would I love to have a police officer on every street corner? Would I love to have 12 snow plows lined up in the winter ready to plow just in case it snows? That's not where we're at."

No safety problem

One of the justifications the mayor used for making the lay-offs was that the fire department staffed for "what if" situations, unlike every other department in the city. That is a practice the city cannot afford to continue, he said.

"We don't typically staff for vacations and sick days, and most times we can't staff for 'what ifs,' " said Goodnight. "All we can do is staff for normal calls for service. We were staffing for time off. We can't do that in any department. We could get hit, God forbid, with a tornado or huge storm, and we're going to be short-handed a few days on street crews. Our limb pick-up will take awhile. We can't have people standing around and waiting for the worst case scenario."

Another reason Goodnight believes the lay-offs were justifiable is that Kokomo spends more on fire protection than many cities of similar size or larger. In 2009, the Kokomo Fire Department was budgeted to spend $10,604,528. That figure is higher than Muncie, Bloomington, Anderson, and Columbus.

In addition, Muncie, Bloomington, and Anderson have larger populations than Kokomo and pay their firefighters less than Kokomo. With Bloomington in particular, that city carries fewer firefighters and serves 27,000 more people while spending $2 million less than Kokomo.

And a lot of cities in Indiana are facing a similar situation to Kokomo. At the same time that Kokomo made its lay-offs, the city of Muncie announced plans to cut 40 firefighters and close three fire stations in response to its dire fiscal situation.

"The thing that troubles me is (the firefighters) are making it look like we are the only city facing these problems," said Goodnight. "I've talked with dozens of mayors over the past few weeks - from New Albany to LaPorte - and they're all looking at making big changes, and lot of them within the fire department. We're not even one of the first to do it.

"Some cities are able to spend down their cash balance first. We didn't have a cash balance to spend down. The other thing working against us is we are hit harder by the economy because of the automotive industry. We have thousands of workers laid off right here in Kokomo. No one is disputing that."

Save, don't spend

If the fiscal situation is as severe as Goodnight depicts, then why does the city currently have roughly $3 million in Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) revenue sitting on the sidelines? The mayor said he has been asked that question repeatedly.

"I made a campaign promise that I would not use that money to subsidize the General Fund, and I'm going to stick to that," said Goodnight. "There has been pressure put on me to spend EDIT money to subsidize the fire department. That is a short-term fix, and that money is better to have ready if we have an economic development opportunity."

He added that the money also would be needed in the event that his proposed annexation of property east and west of the city succeeds. The annexation plan calls for the construction of two additional fire stations to cover the annexed area, which means the EDIT money could be used to cover the construction cost. Incidentally, successful annexation also would result in the return of several of the laid-off firefighters, Goodnight added.

If EDIT is out of the question, then how about additional taxes or user fees? The Indiana Legislature put in place a three-stage Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) to replace property taxes through reform efforts. Local government as a whole opted only to enact the first stage of this tax.

"It's hard to raise taxes on people who are not working," said Goodnight. "If the firefighters or the council members want to have that debate, I'll participate. But at this point, I don't think Kokomo's taxpayers can stomach another tax. Based on what I know right now, I would veto it."

Goodnight holds a similar opinion about instituting a fee for trash pick-up. The firefighters have proposed that a $10 monthly trash fee would generate enough revenue to nearly cover the $2.5 million projected shortfall the city faces. To that end, they have been circulating petitions to garner support for the fee.

"A lot of cities have added a trash fee," said Goodnight. "That goes through the council. I've had two council members tell me they were interested in that. I have been opposed to that. I think some of the things we can do can get us there without new fees. It's more important that we all share in this, and the residents have shared enough.

"I'm the first mayor that anyone can remember who took a pay freeze. I did that for two years, and I'll tip my hand and tell you that I'm going to put in for a pay freeze next year. That will very likely be for my department heads as well. The non-contractuals have given. The police and AFSCME have taken three-year pay freezes, but the firefighters have gotten raises."

Those raises have become a regular point of contention between the firefighters union and the city. Goodnight acknowledged that the firefighters union attempted to give back the 1.5 percent raise before and after the arbitration ruling last December. But the mayor has declined the offer each time.

"There are always strings attached," said Goodnight. "They will give back the raise if we bring back the laid-off firefighters and give them a no lay-off clause."

The firefighters union has argued publicly about the no lay-off clause, contending that it never was extended such an offer while the police and AFSCME were. As late as May 23, Local 396 vice president Jeremy Shaw made this assertion while rallying his members before a door-to-door handbilling campaign.

However, it appears that statement is less than accurate. Goodnight produced a contract proposal that was offered to the firefighters on Aug. 7, 2008. On the front page of that offer, it states that the city was willing to bring back the laid-off firefighters and provide a no lay-off clause. That offer, Goodnight said, was voted down by the membership.

"I think they wanted a 53rd week of pay," said Goodnight. "But they were offered a no lay-off clause."