Budget cuts force St. Joseph, Michigan, to lay off fire chief

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Posted: 6:32 PM Dec 4, 2008
Last Updated: 11:52 PM Dec 4, 2008
Reporter: Stephanie Stang
Email Address: stephanie.stang@wndu.com

70 comments

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The city of St. Joseph, Michigan, has been forced to lay off employees because of a tight budget.

Fire Chief Kevin Luhrs was laid off on Tuesday.

Starting this week Police Chief Mark Clapp will also serve as the fire chief.

One person in the clerk's office and another person in the public services department were also laid off.

Two other workers retired.

City officials say they were short almost $500,000 and needed to continue to contribute to the pension fund.

“We've taken a hard look at what our expenditures area that don't effect our direct delivery to our residents and public services,” says Mayor Robert Judd explaining the cuts.

Besides the layoffs, $75,000 in annual spending has also been cut.

The three laid-off employees will receive four months of severance pay.

The city of St. Joseph, Michigan will now join many other small cities with one chief serving as two.

St. Joseph Police Chief Mark Clapp will now wear two hats, one for police and another for fire.

"I've already started duties as fire chief and continue duties as police chief. Its a major challenge, I've had great support and that's a major key from both fire staff and police staff," says Clapp.

And now Chief Clapp takes over a department he does not have any experience in, "The thing that people have to remember is even though I'm not trained firefighter, we have a staff of professionally trained firefighters and they will carry out that function."

Recently the city found out they needed to make a larger contribution to next's year pension fund.

Forcing them to either raise taxes, or make cuts.

"To be competitive and do the things you need to do I think you need to look at things the most cost effective way, you need a certain number of administrative people but the most important thing are the people on the street," the Mayor added.

St. Joseph officials say many other cities their size do not have a separate police and fire chief.

And this is not the first time St. Joseph has had a combined position.

They also had a similar situation back in the late 90's.

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: Ticked-off Taxpayer Location: St. Joe on Dec 16, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Last night they just hired a police sergant to take over as fire chief. Where is F. Walsh going next. Walsh says he has experience in the fire service, some ten years as a reserve firefighter. That is not experience for a fire chief last I checked. Where is this town headed?

Posted by: Student/Matt Location: St. Joseph on Dec 15, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Well, I don't. When I'm home, I work in a plant in Coloma.

Posted by: Florence Location: Michigan on Dec 13, 2008 at 04:10 PM
I can tell you live in St. Joseph and I believe you work at City Hall. You sound just like the people that work at City Hall.

Posted by: Student/Matt Location: St. Joseph on Dec 13, 2008 at 02:09 AM
Florence, I live in St. Joseph, but I work in Coloma. I've got documents backing up what I say. I'll admit, maybe my memory was a bit sketchy, but I've have posted links. If you don't believe me, whatever. Frank could take a pay cut, he could cut some more stuff out of the budget, it's up to the city commission. I'll be interested to see what happens. That'll be the last word. End of story.

Posted by: Florence Location: Michigan on Dec 12, 2008 at 07:17 PM
Student,why do you care so much? You're from Coloma so why are you so involved in St. Joseph politics? And I don't believe that the money for the fireworks came out of the Municipal Band surplus. You are contradicting yourself. First you said fireworks only cost $3,000,they were left over from Venetian etc. And if the city is short on money why doesn't Frank Walsh take a big pay cut?

Posted by: Student/Matt Location: St. Joseph on Dec 10, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Florence, here's an agenda from the city commission meeting on August 4th. You're right, the fireworks cost $21,000, but the money for them came out of the Municipal Band's $33,000 surplus. Quite frankly (no pun intended), I'm not trying to defend Frank Walsh. I just want to set the facts straight. If you read the article above, its says the city is $500k short for the next year. Here's the link, you have to scroll down the page a little bit: http://www.sjcity.com/inside.php?a=MEETINGS:268

Posted by: Florence Location: Michigan on Dec 10, 2008 at 02:36 AM
STUDENT: You are wrong about the fireworks. Frank Walsh told the newspaper that there would be a double fireworks show at next years Venetian. A couple of weeks later he said he was spending $21,000 for a fireworks show for the St. Joe Municipal band. And look at all the money being spent in the "top 50 goals". Th only thing you seem concerned about is Frank Walsh's reputation and you keep defending him and what budget deficit are you talking about? If there was one,Frank Walsh wouldn't be getting a ridiculous salary and bonuses and driving a fancy Cadillac.

Posted by: Student (cont.) (I prefer Matt, but if you want to keep calling me student, that's ok too) Location: St. Joseph on Dec 9, 2008 at 09:44 PM
The only reason I jumped into the conversation was to clear up concerns about where some of the money for fireworks and lights came from. I know I don't know everything there is to know about city government, I just wanted to present (verb) present (adjective) evidence that I had found, and what I knew about the lights/fireworks. I wish that the city would post a copy of the 2009-10 budget so that I could look at a copy. So, enough with the slander about me, about my family, and about my life. Times are tough, so squabbling on a website isn't going to do any good. Heck, write to The H-P or the city government if you're concerned about something, but attacking me for presenting what I have found won't make the budget deficit go away.

Posted by: Student Location: St. Joseph on Dec 9, 2008 at 09:35 PM
Ok. ENOUGH ALREADY!!! I lived in SJ for ten years, so I think I know a little bit about the town. I have never worked for the City of St. Joseph, ever. I worked in a factory in Coloma over the summer. If you think that I think that politics is fun and games, that's complete slander. Heck, look at what happened to Blagojevich today. Look at what happened to Eliot Spitzer, Kwame Kilpatrick, etc. My dad works in manufacturing and my mom is a teacher, do you think that I might be a wee bit concerned about what's going on? Do you think that I'm concerned about what the city's do with their money? Heck yes. I just wanted to inject what I knew about the situation into the conversation. I'm going to the University of Michigan, because I was given the privilege to go to one of the best colleges in the world for in-state tuition and the Michigan Promise scholarship.

Posted by: todumbtobestudent Location: michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 09:09 PM
Iz sure gldz thatz student iz smartz, cause Iz not now howz to runz a cities. Allz thatz edimucasion fromz the Uz of Mz iz gonna bez greet. Iz wizh Iz couldof gonez to skool toz bez thatz zmart. Wake Up Kid, things aren't always what they seem. When you come into a chat trying to show your smarts and talking down to those who you feel arn't as smart as you. Remember some of us also have college, and are now in the real world. Get your nose out of the books sometime and see for yourself.

Posted by: joe taxpayer Location: michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 08:48 PM
Student apparently goes to Michigan (as he has made it clear) Going to Michigan U does not qualify you to know everything about SJ. I know you read books and probably did an internship, but that doesn't make a 19-22 year old kid know how the city is run. In your classes you are taught about ethics and business management, but here in the real world its alot different. I sure hope your parents who are paying your tuition aren't fired by there employers. Then find out there ex bosses got several thousand dollar bonuses and able to get a full pension after 14 years, and continue to make more than the city manager of Grand Rapids. Maybe then you might see and feel what these individuals are going through. It would be tragic if you were then forced to go to LMC.

Posted by: annon Location: michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 05:19 PM
MM, He didn't cut government, he cut staff. The commision, City Manager and all the boards are still in place. Cutting government wouldv'e meant city manager to take a pay cut, instead oters lost jobs or took pay cuts, he still makes the same plus bonuses.

Posted by: nonstudent on Dec 9, 2008 at 05:08 PM
Student, you just answered your own questions. Everything is not included in the budget. Like city manager extreme bonuses, his pension buy out, other unknown benifits. Also the city is one of the biggest contributers to Cornerstone ($50,000. plus a year, and BH city donates less than $1000. a year, where BH benifits 90% compared to anyone else. I hope you get your degree, and actualy get some real life experience before you continue running off at the mouth. Your rose colored glasses will one day fog up.

Posted by: 1more gone Location: michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 02:20 PM
The Asst. Water Plant Super is also now gone, good thing they don't need one of them either. At one time he did run the Water Plant. I do believe he was on the pension board for a long time, I wonder if that may be a reason he was demoted to Asst. after he left the pension board, and now he has also been fired. I'm not a conspiracy theory kinda of person, but it does make you go HMMMM.

Posted by: annon Location: michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 01:56 PM
Student, you must of worked in the city over the summer. I guess that a few months working and a few semesters at school give you the inner workings of SJ. Question where in the budget does it lay out the extreme bonuses for the city manager. Also did you know he was able to buy 12 years of his pension because he worked for other cities. This benifit is not given to prior military or workers who worked in other cities. Also he did not spend his own money on this pension benifit, he was able to use accumilated sick time. Also the city did not put a dime into the pension for the ten years prior to last year. The money last year went to the waist water treatment pension, not to the other entities of the pension programs. Student get some real time in with the city and see for yourself. I don't work for the city myself but do have several close friends that do. I am also a concerned tax payer.

Posted by: Student Location: St. Joseph on Dec 9, 2008 at 01:45 PM
Florence, it's kind of hard to commute to Broad Street from Ann Arbor 2.5 hours on I-94 every day, especially when you don't have a car with you. Plus, if you look at the actual costs, yes the Labor Day fireworks, they may be in the budget right now, but the city might be able to secure a grant from the SJIA. As for the lights on the bluff, they planned for it to cost $130,500, but it actually cost only $87,000 (see page 10 of the PDF). Plus, this isn't the official city budget. This is just a write down of the projects that they want to do in the next two to three years. Also, I don't see anything mentioned in here about a write down for the leftover Venetian/municipal band fireworks. If this were an actual budget, it would probably be more like 100-150 pages in length instead of 12. The Labor Day fireworks may or may not be added to the actual budget, particularly after the cutting of the fire chief.

Posted by: MM on Dec 9, 2008 at 01:40 PM
way to go st joe.cutting your govt without whining for tax dollars.too bad you aren't running berrien county or niles.if these heroes were in three oaks they wouldn't have had the state to step in.

Posted by: Concerned Location: St. Joseph on Dec 9, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Another employee gone from the city for the “pension fund”. But Mr. Walsh and the City Commission of St. Joseph won’t stop or scale back their project spending. On their website, the “Top 50 Goals for 2009” approved by Commission and the attached Capitol Improvement Budget show that. They will trade the safety of the community for fixing parks and changing street lights downtown. Have they lost sight of what government was intended for, and why people pay taxes in the first place?

Posted by: FLorence Location: Michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 12:34 PM
What does the Chief Of Police know about fire codes and inspections?

Posted by: Myrt on Dec 9, 2008 at 09:54 AM
I may not be a fire fighter, but common sense tells me that if I was a firefighter, I wouldn't want the police chief making the calls. Fire Chiefs are responsible for their guys - how is a person untrained in fighting fires to know when the situation is unsafe for his fire fighters? Experience is needed for this position. Let the police chief worry about keeping the rubber neckers out of the way of the fire fighters and give the Chief back his job. Safety first!!

Posted by: Florence Location: Michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 02:18 AM
To Student: I'm beginning to think you work at City Hall. _X_7. Labor Day Fireworks ($21,000) -Recommended

Posted by: Florence Location: Michigan on Dec 9, 2008 at 02:15 AM
TO Student: Go to the city website and click on the button that says :DID YOU KNOW: Top 50 Goals for 2009 approved by Commission. It will take you to a PDA page with the budget. The lights on the bluff budget is $130,000 and you're wrong about the cost of the fireworks. It was $21,000 for the Municipal Band and $21,000 again for this Labor Day weekend.

Posted by: Student Location: St. Joseph on Dec 9, 2008 at 12:21 AM
Yeah. It's kind of like a board for a charity. All the work that they do is unpaid and is on their own time outside of their regular jobs. They get funding from organizations in our area, like the Cornerstone Alliance, to make St. Joseph a better place to live, like the public art displays, pom pons for everyone at St. Joe's football playoff games, lights on the bluff, etc. Essentially, they help the city get a lot of stuff off the ground. It's pretty cool what they do.

Posted by: Firefighter Location: IN on Dec 8, 2008 at 11:17 PM
To student so the people that work there work as volunteers? I don't know thats why I'm asking.

Posted by: Student Location: St. Joseph on Dec 8, 2008 at 10:50 PM
In addition, here's a link to a SJ City Commission meeting recognizing the St. Joseph Improvement Association's contribution towards the Light Up the Bluff project. http://www.sjcity.com/inside.php?a=MEETINGS:234

Posted by: Student Location: St. Joseph on Dec 8, 2008 at 10:37 PM
Where's the link to this year's city budget? I only see a copy of the 2006-07 fiscal budget on the St. Joseph city website. Plus, according to the 06-07 budget, the city spent $20,000 total for Venetian Festival and $3,000 total for Independence. It doesn't have a line-by- line summary on everything they spent on Venetian. However, let's just assume that all $3000 that was spent on Independence Day was spent on fireworks. If they do three shows, that costs $9000, solely based on if all $3000 is spent on fireworks for each event (which I highly doubt). Your concerns are valid, however, I don't see where you're getting your numbers. Post a link in your next comment. I'm in Ann Arbor, so it's kind of hard to get down to the St. Joe library until exams are over.

Posted by: Florence Location: Michigan on Dec 8, 2008 at 08:05 PM
To Student: On the St. Joseph city website the budget for the lights on the bluff is $130,000. How could their be a budget for it if it comes from grants. Also there are plans for another Labor Day fireworks show this year for $21,000 plus 4th of July and Venetian Festival. City Manager Frank Walsh should take a pay cut and sell his fancy Cadillac.

Posted by: Student Location: St. Joseph on Dec 8, 2008 at 06:27 PM
Firefighter, I have a personal connection with the people that run the St. Joseph Improvement Association. They get grants from other foundations throughout Southwest Michigan. They work with the city, yet receive no city or taxpayer funds. As for the fireworks fir the municipal band, those were left over from the Venetian Festival rainout. They were already allocated for in the city budget.

Posted by: Florence Location: Michigan on Dec 8, 2008 at 04:16 PM
City Manager Frank Walsh lays off city workers but spent $21,000 for a 10 minute fireworks show to honor the St. Joseph Municipal Band at the end of last summer. $21,000 of our tax money up in smoke in 10 minutes. Frank Walsh has his head in the sand and he needs to go.

Posted by: Idea Location: MI on Dec 8, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Listen, lets get the big three ceo's help this little town. They can go to Congress and ask for 1 billion and then give the UAW the money to be fire trained and wala, problem solved. UAW is more than qualified to run a fire department. These men and women are trained professionals skilled in labor. Long live the UNIONS...

Posted by: Ken Location: Georgia on Dec 8, 2008 at 02:29 PM
When America has to go to extremes like this the out come is never good. However I read nothing about the police chief having any fire related training. This could cause a serious reaction. I just feel bad for the fire chief's family, wrong time of year for this kind of stuff. I also feel for the commuinty. Just goes to show the nature of the American way of life, and how far it has gone downhill in the past couple of years. Maybe in the near future things will smooth out and those that deserve it will be back up and fighting again.

Posted by: Firefighter Location: IN on Dec 7, 2008 at 09:26 PM
Ditto to what Keith said! I feel bad not only for the Chief but for the Police Chief wow you just got screwed! Hey STUDENT where does the St. Joseph Improvement Association get there money from? I hope you don't give me the answer I think you are going to give me!

Posted by: TO: FED UP Location: Indiana on Dec 7, 2008 at 09:00 PM
Hey I can see you are a Mr. know it all. I guess since I'm a firefighter full time and I some nights are nice and quiet and other nights I get only a few hours of sleep if any at all I guess you must know everything about everything. Since you do why don't you actually do something about it like run for town counsel or Mayor or something that you can do positive instead of running your mouth and not doing anything about it. Maybe you should know that cops do use cell phones to call people who are complaining about something so they can try to take care of it that way instead of using up gas. I have seen it firsthand. If your town is messed up to bad for you, you can always move to another town, state, or country you can pick. By the way when someone calls me a hero, I tell them no I'm just doing my job. Because I'm not a hero I am just a normal human just like everybody else! TO ST. JOE, MI. Its ok you made a stupid decision so make sure you fix it before it’s too late!

Posted by: Fire Fighter! Location: West Michigan on Dec 7, 2008 at 06:31 PM
I like cops...Work with them almost evey day. Life Safety is the most important job for fire fighters. Those that think the police chief can run the fire department speak from ignorance. Stay safe St.Jo Brothers and Sisters! Go defensive!

Posted by: Student Location: St. Joseph on Dec 7, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Taxpayer, the lights on the bluff were paid for by the St. Joseph Improvement Association. None of the money for those lights came out of taxpayers' pockets. Also, to play devil's advocate, it's not like SJ hasn't had this happen before, like in the late '90s. Is it a disappointment that we had to lay off the fire chief, yes. However, times are tough. Cuts have to be made. We'll probably have a fire chief again, but let's weather this storm and suck it up.

Posted by: KEITH Location: CHICAGO FIRE DEPT. on Dec 7, 2008 at 10:54 AM
This is a very dangerous move. Todays modern day Fire Service is more dangerous than ever before due to changes in buiding construction,and the increased "rate of heat release" of our modern day fire loads.Add to that an increased work load with Hazmat,Technical Rescue, and Emergency Medical Services.Firefighter deaths and injuries continue to climb nation wide.This is a time that strong leadership and training must be a prioriy. Having an unqualified and inexperienced leader in such a vital position in a Department that has the responsiblity of the life safety of the public, is a recipe for disaster.My prayers are with the firefighters and citizens of St.Joe for the very dangerous position that they are now in.

Posted by: PittBull on Dec 7, 2008 at 04:14 AM
Hey, i just heard that the local hospital was taking this advice as well.....they've laid off the cheif surgeon, and the head of the custodial staff is going to perform all surgeries. Everyone knows that Duct tape is cheaper than stitches........

Posted by: FLorence Location: St. Joseph on Dec 7, 2008 at 01:59 AM
St. Joseph,MI City Manager Frank Walsh spends tons of money attracting tourist but he doesn't plow the snow at the Housing Commission where the seniors live. The seniors have to walk on icy,snowy sidewalks to try and get to their cars and then try and drive out of the un plowed parking lots in the front and back of the building at 601 Port St St. Joseph,MI. Even the parks get plowed and no one goes there in the winter but Frank leaves the senior citizens snowed in.

Posted by: ATTN Fed UP Location: I live here on Dec 6, 2008 at 10:14 PM
You are an idiot. There are many jobs a monkey would be suited for--Frank Walsh could easily be replaced by one, but firefighting is a difficult job and one that requires a person who is willing to RISK their life. My uncle was a firefighter and we were lucky he always came home. And while SJ cops do tend to do little more than pick on teenagers, we should be damn happy that we rarely have worse crime than that. BUT, a police chief is not qualifed to be a fire chief. We also don't hire commissioners (Citizen Joe) those morons have been elected by the residents...which doesn't reflect well on the intelligence of the residents. Most of us understand that our country isn't doing well and instead of adding to the problem by eliminating jobs, how about the LEADERS (ie Frank Walsh) step up and return his bonus, maybe take a paycut (he's overpaid) and help his employees rather than 'lay'them off. Turn the positions part time? He should retire and let someone else fix the city.

Posted by: annom Location: St. Joseph on Dec 6, 2008 at 10:05 PM
I went to the light the bluff event last night - yes it was very neat but was it worth the $ for to have it for someone to lose their jobs? Maybe Frank needs the money to help bail his kids out of jail again.

Posted by: Fed Up Location: Mass on Dec 6, 2008 at 08:34 PM
Is any one else sick of hearing these cry babys that sleep all night so they can work a second job always looking for a pat on the back over paid with cheap taxpayer subsidized health care complainers????Try working out side the government where you don't get to sleep on the job and have to pay what we do for ins.And by the way a monkey could be fire chief after all what do they do daily drink coffee and watch tv.You tax dollar leaches days are numbered because we are sick of paying higher taxes so you can ride on the gravy train .Look at the public do nothing employees in you're town and tell me if you see what I see in my town DPW workers doing nothing COPS running errands talking on cell phones sitting in donut shops and TOWN HALL workers who act inconvinienced by having to get up and do thier jobs.Get rid of more of these loafers and you might for ounce in you're life see you're taxes go down!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Cynthia Location: Phoenix on Dec 6, 2008 at 07:20 PM
This practice of having a Police Chief head the fire dept is a dangerous practice. Firefighting is as specialized as police work, maybe even more so in needed knowledge of fire causes, fighting, rescue, personal protective equipment, etc. Many cities are asking all employees to take a small pay cut to save jobs. Its worked here before and our city employees agreed to do it again. Laying people off not the only solution in saving personnel costs. I still think having an unqualified person to head a dept is asking for trouble down the road.

Posted by: me Location: not in st joe on Dec 6, 2008 at 05:06 PM
I agree w/everyone else...why so many Christmas lights? It's not a competition. There is no other city around that is doing what St. Joe is doing. Where is the common sense in getting rid of the fire chief? Can the thousands of Christmas lights. Just for a moment let people know you care about others in the community. and by the way....give back that big bonus. It really doesn't look good when things like this happen.

Posted by: Citizen Joe Location: Michigan on Dec 6, 2008 at 01:28 PM
Hopefully the Fire Chief moves on to a Department and Community that are deserving of him. Nobody ever said common sense was a prerequisite for the hiring of city commissioner's. Unfortunately in the end it is the very people they serve that will suffer the results of such stupidity. If the new Police /Fire Chief had an ounce of common sense, he would have refused the extra responsibilities or resigned. I wonder how the new chief would have felt had the roll been reversed and the fire chief would have assumed the police chief's job. Some would say thats unthinkable, but fire is predictable if your educated in fire science and behavior. A crook holding a gun is not, period.... The fire chief understood risk-vs-benefit analysis. How hard could the police chief's job be from behind the desk? Goodluck to the residents of St.Joe, MI..............

Posted by: sir realalot on Dec 6, 2008 at 12:51 PM
They're just being butts because you're not being forced to pay through the nose for land taxes and make them rich. We're going to hear it for a long time; ohhhh, the libraries must close, ohhhh no more fire stations, ohhhh no more police... the sky is falling, dogs and cats living together. A lot of people were getting free money from your taxes. They're not going to give that up without throwing a huge fit.

Posted by: firefighter Location: small town above the bridge on Dec 6, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Hopefully, the Lt's and Capt's have enough training and experience under there belts. Because this now is who will be running the Department. A police chief has no need to be on the fire scene. He is not properly trained, and has no experience with fire. How is he going to tell a group of guys what to due in a major incident. Not a very smart move in my opinion.

Posted by: john Location: south bend on Dec 6, 2008 at 05:21 AM
south bend and a few of theses other cities and towns should look into what they did in st joe michigan.and double up a few of theses [so called ]positions.

Posted by: John Location: Saint Joseph on Dec 5, 2008 at 08:18 PM
Did I'm stupid ?? - Read this - "Silver Beach Development officially broke ground Monday for a group of planned family attractions. The nearly $20 million development is scheduled to officially open late summer 2009". Cut Fire Chief position and build Compass Rose Fountain, Shadowland Ballroom. Frank - you deserve another pay raise ! Fun first - Safety last. Graet idea !

Posted by: Anothertaxpayer Location: St. Joseph on Dec 5, 2008 at 08:10 PM
It was an eighteen percent perfomance bonus that Walsh got. You think he would turn that down, nooooo. He has it in for the Fire Department bottom line. Since he has been city manager he has gotten rid og four fire chiefs

Posted by: Indiana Fireman Location: Indiana on Dec 5, 2008 at 05:58 PM
In response to 1:48pm - What will happen is Downtown will be gloriously ablaze when the powers that be come knocking and Chief Luhrs will run out to practice what he knows. It's just what we do, we're firefighters. In the face of cuts and inadequate equipment, we're our own worst enemy. Instead of standing up and saying "ENOUGH!"; we mumble under our breath, move on and do the best we can with what we have left. Unfortunately, it takes something like the Worchester 6 or Charleston 9 to make elected officials see the error of their ways. The best fire I ever went to never happened. Prevention is more effective (and safer) than suppression. But when there are no fires, it's time to get out the budget axe.

Posted by: Eric Location: Moving out of St. Joe on Dec 5, 2008 at 04:51 PM
What is going on in this City? Does Frank Walsh not understand that not only is he putting the citizens of this community at risk by putting a police chief in charge of a fire scene, he is endangering the lives of every fire fighter who has to turn to the FIRE CHIEF for direction. Why is the City of St. Joe spending over $150,000 in Christmas lights and giving Frank Walsh over $30,000 in Bonuses, when the City is in a financial crisis? What ever happened to making PUBLIC SAFETY a priority to the commission? Why does this commission think that it is right to give Mr. Walsh so much money and yet vote to lay off three people. This City and Commission is so concerned about their ART displays and Festivals, they are neglecting the people of this town. Certain people working for this City need to take a step back and look at all the people who are struggling to make ends meet and buy food for their family. It is really sad to see someone given so much money in such tough times,enjoy it!

Posted by: Frankfurter Location: Frankville on Dec 5, 2008 at 04:31 PM
Frank should have been canned a long time ago, but now he's in paper saying other municipalities will have the same problem, but other cities were smart enough to manage their money and risk "The Consensus Builder" has been a rude, power hungry politican for years and is now looking to parachute out to the state house. Egad...

Posted by: DaGonz Location: Cybersapce, USA on Dec 5, 2008 at 03:55 PM
Imagine the wailing that would go on in the Fire Chief were tasked with running the Police Department. There would be an outcry that the Fire Chief doesn't know the laws or the first thing about law enforcement; so why does this make the Police Chief taking the reins of the Fire Department any different? A servant cannot serve two masters...

Posted by: FF Location: St. Joe on Dec 5, 2008 at 01:48 PM
It is the same as with the auto industries, cuts need to be made sure but they should start with the pockets of the guys in charge. If the current plan isn't working the pay cuts need to start coming from those who screwed up the plan in the first place. Last i checked the fire chief doesn't have a big say in where the money for pension funds comes from. Let us just hope that in the time it takes for them to pull their heads out of you know where we don't experience an emergency requiring all of the experience they just cast aside.

Posted by: NJ Firefighter Location: NJ on Dec 5, 2008 at 12:48 PM
Another stupid and uncalled for budget cut. How is a Police Chief qualified to be a Fire Chief? There is absolutely no way that he can do all the duties of a Fire Chief. Simply relying on the expertise of other firefighters is not an excusable reason to remove the Fire Chief and use a Police Chief. A Fire Chief is responsible for all the actions of the firefighters below him, and as such should have no less than equal the amount of fire training and expertise than those he/she is supposed to be supervising. Technically he/she should have years more of experience as a firefighter and numerous other advanced firefighting training in order to be effective as a fire chief. This is just absurd, and once again it appears that money is being put first before the public's safety. Just ridiculous. So my question is, does the Police Chief plan on going to a Fire Academy so that he can see exactly what it is that he is supposed to have some sort of knowledge of??

Posted by: Indiana Fireman Location: Indiana on Dec 5, 2008 at 11:43 AM
I don't even know where to start. Budget cuts are one thing, but public safety? Now, all bets are off. Visit www.firefighterclosecalls.com to see what happens when we put dollars before safety. Read the story about the Maryland triplets that are alive today because Montgomery County did not put dollars before safety. Fire does not care. Of course, the politically incorrect view (but truthful) view is that sooner or later the fire will burn down to the size you can handle it. Plus, the Police Chief is not a Firefighter. Apparently, a Police hat on backwards is a Fire hat. Or the other way around.

Posted by: Rocky Location: Up Here on Dec 5, 2008 at 11:36 AM
To Taxpayer, you are correct! I went and looks it up in news paper article. That's like these companies laying off people and at the same time the CEO is getting a big fat bonus.

Posted by: Rocky Location: Up Here on Dec 5, 2008 at 11:27 AM
To taxpayer, yes Frank make good money, but where are you coming up with the 18% raise? We have yet to find anybody to say that's true.

Posted by: Linn Location: Lagrange on Dec 5, 2008 at 11:13 AM
As a retired police captain, I am distressed that the POLICE chief is now acting FIRE chief. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing; no matter how competent a lawman the police chief may be, unless he is a veteran firefighter, he has no business AT the fireground and NONE AT ALL leading firefighters into a working fire. Instead of laying off the fire chief, fire the incompetent who laid off the fire chief and endangered public and professionals alike by putting an amateur where only a professional should be!

Posted by: Taxpayer Location: St Joe on Dec 5, 2008 at 08:39 AM
Gee, Frank W just received an 18% pay raise on over 100K salary plus an 11K longevity bonus. Plus, he bought over 250K in lights on the bluff for the holidays. The Fire Chief has to review building and site plans along with emergency response plans to meet Public Act 207. How are they going to do that? How long will it go before someone gets hurt on the fire scene as the Police Chief is busy with other tasks? This did not work before contrary to reports and it will not work again.

Posted by: Pat Location: Middleofnowherebury on Dec 5, 2008 at 08:37 AM
Things are tough all over. Why shouldn't government be forced to shed a few jobs when the private sector is losing hundreds of thousands? I forgot...a job in government is "workfare".

Posted by: Betty Location: Michigan on Dec 5, 2008 at 08:12 AM
Not a real good move. Does this person have all the hundreds of hours of training the states requires to be a fireman or a fire chief? If not I am not sure they can do this. I would not put my life in his hands.

Posted by: Scott Location: Very Unhappy City Tax Payer! on Dec 5, 2008 at 08:11 AM
Maybe the City Manager of St. Joseph should have declined his annual pay raise and outrageous bonus a few weeks ago knowing that the budget crunch and pension problems were at hand. Why dose the City of St. Joseph need to spend so much money on holiday lighting? Is this the City Manager’s winter wonder land? The City has always had great holiday decorations for all the seasons. But rumor has it that even after donations the city spent big money on holiday lighting this year. The City’s primary job is to keep their taxpayers safe and keep the city clean and maintained. Any cut backs should be done on items and programs that don’t pertain to public safety and maintenance. Stop wasting money and save jobs!

Posted by: John Location: St. Joseph on Dec 5, 2008 at 02:01 AM
This City in on life support - it is going down from few years. City who don't have even one movie theater! Golf course - who need this? - waist of money. Bigest building - Court House and Prison! Nothing for young generation - no jobs, no future, high taxes - why they living!

Posted by: Fire Frank Location: mi on Dec 5, 2008 at 01:21 AM
Let's start with the rude jerk that runs the city. How about he return the bonuses that he doesn't deserve and maybe take a pay cut himself. This is his responsiblity and he's certainly not feeling any pain. And really-if they are cutting peoples jobs, how can they justify spending money on that stupid light the bluff junk? Seems theres probably thousands of dollars tied up in that mess, not to mention the electricity.

Posted by: Thomas Location: Mishawaka on Dec 4, 2008 at 11:56 PM
Here's a solution. Have all of those rich Illinois part-time residents pass the hat and donate the funds to the Fire Department. That's a small price to pay to protect their investment.

Posted by: Burt on Dec 4, 2008 at 08:17 PM
Good lord, don't lay off someone from the street department or cut some workers back to a 4 day workweek. Let's get rid of the fire chief, we don't need one of those.

Posted by: Anonymous on Dec 3, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Well of course they don't have the money now. Just what does a city of this size need with what not 1 but 2 NEW high performance chryslers? What next cities trying to get bailout money?