By Kristine Guerra
Indianapolis Star
LAWRENCE, Ind. — Brandon Wilch said goodbye to his second family Saturday morning. He cleared his locker and wished his former co-workers good luck.
The city of Lawrence laid off Wilch and 23 other emergency medical technicians to help patch a $2 million budget hole. Mayor Dean Jessup has proposed slashing about $600,000 from the Lawrence Fire Department budget, and that entails letting go civilian EMTs and replacing them with firefighters.
“The whole reason this is done is because the city was in desperate financial crisis. We’re at the risk of running out of money by the end of the year,” said Keith Johnson, deputy chief of staff for Jessup. “Now, we won’t.” With the layoffs and other cuts in place, Johnson said, the city is projecting a general fund balance of $30,000 by the end of the fiscal year.
Full Story: Lawrence firefighters must pick up slack after layoffs of civilian EMTs