Boardman trustees consider firefighter contract change

BOARDMAN — With nine township firefighters laid off, trustees are considering elimination of a contract provision requiring at least nine firefighters per shift to try to further trim costs.

Minimum manning in the contract approved earlier this year between the firefighters’ union and the township calls for a minimum of nine firefighters on shift: two at each outlying station and five at the main station. If less than nine are on per shift, firefighters must be called out on overtime.

Previous contracts had a minimum of eight firefighters per shift.

Trustees last month laid off nine firefighters among the 42 full and part-time employees cut because of shrinking revenue. Voters in November rejected a 4-mill general operating levy that would have generated about $4 million annually.

Since the layoffs, the South Avenue fire station has been closed during many shifts because there weren’t enough people working to staff it.

Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and vindy.com