Mayor Bernard Dubaskas says the proposed cuts were nothing more than a suggestion, and any elimination of shifts would have to come from council.
After a month of anonymously posted fliers, some of which were torn down by the mayor, a rift has opened between Dubaskas and members of the fire department.
In March, council trimmed the number of Police Department shifts from 33 to 28 per week to save money.
Dubaskas, who oversees the Police Department, had suggested that the borough might free up additional cash by having volunteers man the fire station on the weekends.
"When things go wrong, they seem to go to the police to make a bit of a cut," he said.
But George Tomasak, one of the borough's three full-time drivers and president of the firefighters' union, said the mayor's suggestion has more to do with wounded pride than budget concerns.
Two new fire engines bought with about $800,000 in grants might have aroused a bit of jealousy on the other side of Borough Hall, which houses the Fire Department and Dubaskas' office, Tomasak said.
"I think it made his department, which is the Police Department, look not as good as the Fire Department."
The Fire Department employs three full-time engine drivers and as many as 10 part-time firefighters. The chief engineer is paid $42,487, and the two other drivers are paid $41,000. Part-time employees are paid $8.75 an hour.
The fliers implore anyone concerned about cuts to call the mayor or Councilman Gary Moran, listing their phone numbers.
The flier reads, in part: " 'Mayor Dubaskas' and 'Councilman Moran' are insisting that you do not need fire protection all the time, only when they choose! Could it be your house that burns or family that dies when they 'choose' you don't need your fire department and firefighters!
Both men say they haven't received any calls.
Moran said weekend volunteer staffing is unlikely, but a consolidation of fire services with nearby Larksville has been considered.
Even that is far from reality, Moran said. "Our feeling is we need police protection. We need to look at everything not just one part of the borough," Moran said, adding that his car was stolen last week. "For us as councilmen not to look at all the options would be wrong."
Tomasak alleges secret meetings occurred between Moran, the mayor and Larksville council members, an allegation that Moran laughs off. The meeting, he said, was nothing more than casual conversation with a Larksville councilwoman over a cigarette at a social function.
Although a vote to trim hours at the Fire Department is not imminent, the feud at Borough Hall has degenerated to insults.
"The fire department itself is pretty well pissed off," Tomasak said. "It seems like it's getting really, really hairy right now.
"Here's a so-called union man trying to bust up what has been essentially the same in Edwardsville for a 100 years." The mayor says he's weathered obscenities and accusations.
The mayor, who drives a bus for the Luzerne County Transportation Authority, just shrugs it off. "I'm a strong union person. It's American as far as I'm concerned."
