Board of Aldermen 6-23-2020 Page 23
MOTION BY ALDERMAN CLEMONS TO AMEND R-20-023 BY TAKING $255,000 FROM
CONTINGENCY AND PUTTING THE $255,000.00 INTO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGE
ON THE QUESTION
Alderman Clemons
And I'd like to speak to that Motion.
President Wilshire
Alderman Clemons?
Alderman Clemons
So as we have heard from the Chief and other folks, when the Budget was crafted by the Mayor, there was
a $500,000.00 cut, roughly a little bit over that, but $500,000.00 cut from the Fire Department Budget. And
we, in the Budget Committee, put $245,000.00 back. And we did that a few motions ago by amending it —
the budget — with the Golden Rod copy. So now that we have seen $500,000.00 in additional savings from
the healthcare line, which | might add a lot of that comes from the Fire Department. My opinion is we ought
to make that whole so that we can have a clear conscious in voting for the Fireman’s Contract. It will at
least enable the funding to be there for that. That was one of the chief concerns that were brought forward
was that if we don’t have enough funding in the Fireman’s Budget, in the Fire Department Budget, then
there won’t be enough money to fund the contract because we are not going to have enough money for
that in next year’s Budget.
So if we take $255,000.00 which we just put into contingency, (audio cuts out) sorry about that, back into
the Fire Department Budget, that money will be there and so that would be the purpose of this motion and |
would hope that you all could support that. So that is the motion.
President Wilshire
The motion is to cut contingency by $255,000.00 and add it to the Fire Department Budget, $255,000.00.
Discussion on that motion? Alderman Klee?
Alderman Klee
Thank you, Madam President. | agree wholeheartedly with Alderman Clemons. | think that the fact that we
are putting this into contingency and we are not using it to reduce the taxes, | think we should make the
Fire Department whole. If | remember correctly we did something similar to the Police Department with
some of the amendments that we made. And | think it’s just fair to kind of make them as whole as they had
requested and so on. So! completely support that.
Alderman Jette
Yes, so | think Alderman Clemons is much more experienced in dealing with these budgets than | am as is
Alderman Dowd. But if we keep it the way it is, in other words, if the money goes into the contingency as
we just voted on and we left it there, then if, in fact, we vote to approve the Firefighter's Collective
Bargaining Agreement, the money could then be transferred from contingency into the Fire Department
Budget to fund that, | think. However, if we vote to put it into the Fire Department’s Budget now, we are
kind of putting the cart before the horse. | think we ought to wait and vote on Collective Bargaining
Agreement and if that passes, then a transfer could be made. If it doesn’t pass, then that money is sitting
in the Fire Department Budget and it would no longer be required until a further Collective Bargaining
Agreement came out of negotiations or fact finding or whatever. So | am going to vote against doing this
now; | think it is premature.
