FLINT -- Mayor Dayne Walling refused to comment on claims by the Flint Firefighters union that a fire station would be closing, following the scheduled demotion of ten firefighters effective March 5th. “What ten demotions means to me is that they were probably going to close one of the fire stations,” union president Raul Garcia told city council members at a meeting Monday night.
Mayor Walling said he was not commenting on the matter and NBC25 was unable to obtain specific information from City Administrator Gregory Eason. “I can say right now there are some discussions centered around some budget cuts and personnel changes that have to be made,” Eason said, but would not elaborate.
Walling and Garcia are scheduled to meet on Tuesday about the issue. Garcia said his department has a “brownout” plan designed to prevent station closures by arranging staffing at specific yet minimum levels, allowing the city to trim costs. Walling has said the fire department is over budget by roughly $500,000. It’s not clear if he supports the union’s plan.
