toledoblade.com --

Dan Wagner, president of the Toledo Police Patrolmen's Association.
( THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH )

If not police or fire protection, then what?

That's the question Toledo City Council members are trying to answer as they shift numbers around in hopes of softening the blow of massive budget cuts made inevitable by the nation's sour economy.

Police officers and firefighters themselves are unsure what to do.

About 20 police officers were asked for ideas on where cuts should be made.

All declined, saying they were instructed to defer questions to their union leader, Dan Wagner, president of the Toledo Police Patrolman's Association.

Mr. Wagner told The Blade Tuesday night that the police union will present some fresh ideas when it sits down at 2 p.m. today for what promises to be intensive labor negotiations with the Finkbeiner administration, although he declined to reveal them.

He said, though, the city wouldn't be in such dire shape if the administration had gone through with an across-the-board 10 percent budget cut in January. That would have made it easier for department heads to plan, Mr. Wagner said.

He also said the police union would like to see a labor-management committee formed to find savings through incentive-based programs, such as one that offers a week's vacation for the winner.

Tammy Powell, a firefighter-paramedic on the union negotiating team.
( THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH )

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"It's the front-line worker who sees where money is wasted, not somebody who sits behind a desk," Mr. Wagner said.

Others were more strident in their views.

Retired Police Sgt. Richard B. Murphy said the Finkbeiner administration's plan for steep cuts from police and fire is the "dumbest thing I've heard" and said he implores city councilmen to show their backbone.

"It looks like they're just looking for a hole to crawl in," Mr. Murphy said. "They've either got to grow up and grow out or go back to their old jobs. If they can't back their safety forces, they're just stupid."

Morale among police officers is the lowest he's seen, Mr. Murphy said.

He said the city must make cuts in sports, parks, forestry, and any other program that isn't directly involved in public safety or garbage pickup.

Pam Kujawa, who retired Friday as a patrol officer, said she reluctantly cut her career short in hopes of saving someone else's job.

She accused the Finkbeiner administration of "screwing around with everyone's lives" with its sluggish response to negotiations.

"Don't pit us against everyone else in the city," she said, holding back tears when she described her fellow officers as the "greatest people" she has known.

As for Mr. Finkbeiner, the former police officer fumed: "I think the man's an idiot and I can say that now that I'm retired."

"There's got to be a better way [to balance the budget] than making threats," she said. "I did not want to end my career this way."

Firefighters showed up in force at yesterday's meeting with police officers, though nearly all of them deferred to union representatives, as well.

Fire Capt. John Vedra said he doesn't know what other parts of the budget to cut, but said he is dismayed by the Finkbeiner administration's foot-dragging.

"They call it collective bargaining for a reason," he said. "He has not even sat down and talked to us."

Tammy Powell, a firefighter-paramedic on the negotiating team, said union officials question the accuracy of the city's $27.7 million deficit figure. She said the administration isn't listening to offers being made that could save the city costs in the long run, such as on overtime and sick leave if some positions were filled.

"There are ways they can cut without getting into peoples' pockets," she said. "There are ways we can get out of the red for 2010 and 2011."

Fire Chief Michael Wolever said all city departments have made cuts. "I'm not sure how much more they could do," he said.

Though the fire department hasn't hired in three years, Chief Wolever said he sees more cuts on the horizon for his department - but hopes to save as many jobs as possible.

Contact Tom Henry at:
thenry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6079.

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