City officials in Ironton are considering eliminating paid firefighters in favor of volunteers as a way to resolve a financial crisis.
According to television station, WVAH Fox 11, Mayor Katrina Keith says city funds are projected to be in the red in five years, even with a recent fee hikes approved by the city council recently.
To remedy that problem Keith said in a public forum the city has to lay off the entire fire department, the TV station reported. She added the cost of running the police and fire departments consume half of Ironton’s general reserve fund.
Options to fix the financial issues include making the fire department a volunteer organization or raise taxes and city municipal fees, the station quoted the mayor.
While residents at a recent public forum balked at increased taxes and fees, the local fire union warned of the dangers of relying on volunteers for fire protection, the station reported.
Zach Kriebel, president of the local firefighter Union 532 said the department currently as an average response time of three minutes while a volunteer response could exceed 10 minutes, the station reported.
WVAH reported that while the city council could vote to make the department volunteer or raise taxes and fees, it would take a vote of residents to approve any measure.
