Can Fire Chief Smokey Dyer meet this challenge?
Yael T. AbouhalkahChief Smokey Dyer now has the responsibility to cut $7.6 million out of the KC Fire Department’s budget, at least as far as Mayor Sly James is concerned.
“Let the chief figure it out, and then let’s hold him accountable” for his plan, James told me Friday.
So how’s Dyer supposed to do that?
Cutting staff is the default option. That’s because most of the Fire Department’s budget is set aside for salaries and pensions.
The chief can’t cut the debt load of the department; those bonds require annual payments.
And he shouldn’t want to slice too much out of the equipment repair or replacement programs. KC fell behind once on those issues, and wound up with an agency that didn’t have the right equipment to do the job.
However, Dyer already has spoken out against cutting staff the way his boss - City Manager Troy Schulte - wanted to do it: Slicing 105 firefighters from the payroll, mostly by going to three-person pumpers rather than the current four-person staff on the trucks,
So how might Dyer reduce the staff? Closing stations has to be on the list, as much as firefighters and some neighborhood groups might not want that to happen.
There’s another possibility: Dyer could lobby City Council members to reject what Mayor James wants him to do. Remember, the budget won’t be approved by the council until late March.
That gives the fire union and Dyer time to lobby against the $7.6 million funding cut.
However, I’m not sure that’s a realistic option. So far, no council member has come out to defend current funding for the Fire Department.
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Booker T Washington
3 months ago“Let the chief figure it out, and then let’s hold him accountable” for his plan, James told me Friday.
This is not Leadership it’s passing the Buck.
Adam Bailey
3 months agoHow can you say cutting positions is the way to go. The firefighter as a person is the greatest piece of equipment this city can have. They are experts in saving lives in an area I would not go. This if anyone knows me is very hard to say. You find a way to keep the firefighters in the houses and ready to act when called upon. For once this city needs stand up and make the right choice and not the easy mistake.
David Hilton
3 months agoKCFD just hired a ton of new people. 30, 40 50? I don’t know. How will cutting staff help response times for ambulance? I see the KCFD website doesn’t even report response times anymore. Just as well since the results were predictable — not good.
Sam Abadir
Kansas City
3 months agoso many people are missing the point here…James is forcing Dyer to make the cuts. Instead of 105 cut it will be 100 and they will turn the lights off at night.
Anyway - if it can be done without cuts then its a failure of leadership to not have already done it.
I still don’t quite get the whole problem. Dyer says he cant send out groups of 3. They must be groups of 4. Just have less groups of 4. If we do not have that many fires we will not miss anything.
If they are not needed, slim the department down. And then cut my eTax which was supposed to prevent these “horrible” cuts.
KC cannot be taxed any more than it is.
Kay Fox
Kansas City
3 months agoYael,
Thanks for keeping this in front of the public.
If you would only take note of the KC School District contracts.
Gwen et al ask for $4 million, now Sly has ask for $1 billion, Gwen got her wish and then some…wowsa.
Why hasn’t the city been doing their job all along and why hasn’t the Star reported the diversion of funds to other projects?