Y'town fire station didn't close; why unclear

YOUNGSTOWN

It turns out the city didn’t start a rotating closure of fire stations as planned.

And there is confusion and conflicting stories as to how it didn’t happen, including an allegation of an illegal council meeting.

Jamael Tito Brown's mayoral administration initially suggested to council the city use most of an $85,000 fund to replace the rusted frame of a fire truck to cover an overtime increase in the department.

But council members rejected that proposal at a Tuesday finance committee meeting, saying a longer-term solution is needed.

Fire Chief Barry Finley reluctantly suggested closing stations on a rotating basis and using the three firefighters who would work at those stations to make up for a staffing shortfall at other stations to save overtime.

Council accepted that proposal Tuesday, and the first shutdown was scheduled for Thursday.

After Wednesday night’s council meeting, however, Councilwoman Lauren McNally, D-5th, chairwoman of the finance committee, had a telephone conversation with Finley about keeping Station No. 15 on the West Side open and not shutting down other stations on a rotating basis.

There’s little agreement as to what happened next.

Read more about the matter in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.