On Thursday- KC-MO City councilman Russ Johnson advanced an ordinance that would sweep MAST-EMS into the city fire department.
Voting FOR this ordinance was Mayor Mark Funkhouser. Other yes votes came from councilpersons Deb Hermann, Beth Gottstein, Cindy Circo, Terry Riley and Cathy Jolly
This was approved a WEEK before any "public hearing" on such a move to fold one of America's BEST ambulance/paramedic services into that labor-troubled city department.
Labor-troubled as in fire department strikes against KC-MO and it's citizens in 1975 and 1980.
Funk- I've supported you through "Mammy-gate" and other childish controversies but- after this vote to dissolve MAST-EMS into the KC-MO FD- you have finally lost me.
You claim a "cost-savings" in doing this. I'll bet you a month's pay that no immediate savings come out of this move- but it will actually cost the city MORE to do this.
What will KC-MO do with the current multi-million dollar MAST-EMS headquarters on Eastwood Trafficway?
What about the many dozens of MAST employees who DO NOT live in KC-MO?
How are the different shifts of paramedics and EMT's going to fold into the 1 day on- two days off schedule of firefighters?
How will firefighters sleep at night when the ambulance in the station gets calls and/or moved around to fill coverage gaps like MAST does now?
And- most important- what will KC-MO residents do when the paramedics and EMTs join the firefighters in another slowdown or strike?
At any rate- Mayor Funkhouser and most of the City Council have lost my support- and any future vote.
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2 comments:
Where will the fire department put the extra personnel into already crowded fire stations? Also, where will the female staff have restroom and shower facilities. Having stations with "male/female" designations on a previously "male locker-room" is not going to solve the problem. It doesn't work for the fire department now. The city now has created for itself more potential liability under the sex discrimination laws than it already has now. There is a lawsuit pending now against the City because its fire stations discriminate against women. The city certainly hasn't thought this decision through.
The list of questions grows daily, and the answer list seems to never get any longer. I like the 2 hour public hearing on the day of the big vote this week. Why even bother with a public hearing? The council doesn't care what the public thinks.
Remember how the council entirely disregarded the wishes of the voters on the light rail vote? They just ovverruled the light rail vote. Threw it out.
Does this sound like "Democracy in action?" No. It sounds the work of people who forgot that they serve the public.
The city put together a committee that specifically recommended AGAINST a KCFD takeover. And the council applause for that report was deafening. But now we're just throwing that out, too.
They rejected a KCFD takeover of MAST this last spring, and how we're back at it again. What changed?
And why the rush? We're paying hundreds of thousands to yet more consultants and for what? Why not wait until we get a recommendation from them? This smacks of insider politics.
I'm very disappointed by the mayor and city council.
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