PHILADELPHIA — Starting Monday, Philadelphia residents might need to keep a bucket of water handy because who knows when the Fire Department will show up. At least that's the spin from the firefighters union.
Top city officials, however, say that residents will hardly notice that fire companies are being closed, based on a temporary rotation.
The truth lies somewhere in between amid what has been a fierce city budget battle. Some response times will be slower, but the city won't burn down.
Mayor Nutter last month balanced the city budget by cutting $47 million in spending. The Fire Department was cut by $3.8 million, and officials have scheduled temporary closings — called "rolling brownouts" — to reduce overtime costs.
Around the nation, cities that are struggling financially have resorted to brownouts, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Sacramento.
A brownout in San Diego might have contributed to the choking death of a 2-year-old boy last month, news organizations there reported. Firefighters at a station one block from the boy's home were responding to a call that would have been handled by another station that was scheduled for a brownout that day.
I think "brown" is the appropriate color here... too much tax dollars are wasted trying to educate and placate mud colored barbarians.
