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Regular City Council Meeting <br />August 28, 2003 <br />Page 5 <br />on each engine and if you have two engines that will be six firefighters, the <br />deputy chief, and most of the time you will have the rescue truck making a total <br />of nine people at a fire. There will also be the EMS people. He said that is not <br />too many people. He said that when they get to the scene they are doing all <br />they can do in most cases to do the j ob that they need to do, and they are <br />required to have two in and two out and they have to have people stationed for <br />rescue purposes to protect their own. <br />Chief Grooms said you are hiring two people per shift, but the Council has got <br />to remember these people will have to have time off as we1L It is not like you <br />hire those two firefighters and they work. These firefighters average 121 shifts <br />a year, and you are not going to have those two firefighters present 121 shifts <br />out of a year. <br />Mayor Fendley asked Chief Grooms if the morale of the department will be <br />better by having more firefighters and receiving less compensation and <br />overtime. Chief Grooms advised that has been basically what he has gathered. <br />They want firefighters, and certainly they like the overtime. Councilman Plata <br />said his guess is the morale ofthe Fire Department is down because everything <br />has been imposed on them. Councilman Plata said he could not see that it is <br />going to help a whole lot. He said that it makes more sense to cut the <br />firefighters like they did last year because you are going to have two fire trucks <br />going to the same fire and that will be four people covering the 2 people in and <br />2 people out. Chief Grooms said that is not enough because you cannot <br />physically operate with 4 people. <br />Chief Grooms said he wanted to make sure that he understands correctly what <br />Councilman Bell asked when he asked what his priorities were. That was <br />based on his proposal, is that not true off of page 15. Councilman Bell said <br />yes, off of a buffet, but if you have something that is better. Chief Grooms said <br />that he thought that an increase of the 5% for three years is very important. <br />Councilman Bell said that was not what he was saying. Mayor Fendley asked <br />if Chief Grooms thought the overtime in the proposed budget is a better option <br />