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Cuts Through Attrition

City Council votes to go from 48 to 44 full time firefighters

It may take several years but Woodstock's Fire Department is going from 48 to 44 full time firefighters.

After more than two hours of debate Thursday night, City council voted on the reduction of staff through attrition.

Councillor Bill Bes says while he respects the workforce, he had to vote for the decrease. 
 
"By going through the attrition process nobody is going to lose their job. As people retire we will go down to 44. I would like to move forward by going outside the box and say lets start a bit of a modified work force and really take a serious look at it."
 
Councillor Ron Fraser was one of two councillors who voted against the motion stating the steady residential and industrial growth in the community as one reason he didn't support the cuts.
 
"In ten years council may have to make a decision to increase the fire department so why reduce and have to increase before all the attrition takes place? To me, it made much more sense to keep the staff we have, not hire any more but we also have those people in place for the future."
 
Council also approved consideration of an additional Fire Inspector and the costing of relocating the Parkinson Road Fire Hall to James Street and Springbank Avenue be referred to the 2014 Capital Budget, something Woodstock Professional Fire Fighters Association President Chuck Newton says he cannot support.
 
"If they're saying to us we have to get our costs in check and that means reducing from 48 to 44, I find it hard to go to the public and say we're going to move the hall at possibly a five million dollar cost, I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I can't support that."
 
Newton says if those options were presented on top of their full 48 person staff he would be all for them. 

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