MARK CAUDILL
MansfieldNewsJournal.com
Reprinted with Permission

MANSFIELD - At least one official isn't sure where the city will find the money to pay 20 returning firefighters.

"We have to pay backpay and pay overtime that they would have made," Service-Safety Director Ron Kreuter said. "We're probably looking at $300,000 in a time that we didn't have any money to begin with."

On Monday an arbitrator ruled in favor of International Association of Firefighters Local 266 in its dispute with the city and ordered 20 firefighters who have been laid off since July 12 back to work.

The ruling means Station No. 3 on Sunset Boulevard will reopen and Station No. 6 on Springmill Street won't be subject to periodic closing when someone calls off sick.

"We'll be back how we were before July 12," fire Chief John Harsch said.

Harsch said he wasn't sure how the news would affect the fire prevention bureau, which has been down to one person since the layoffs. The other two members were transferred to manning lines.

By laying off 20 firefighters, the union contended the city violated its contract:

• By reducing minimum staffing levels from 21 daily to 16 or 17.
• By cutting the department's total number be- low 88.
• And by not moving a captain up to assistant chief if assistant chiefs are absent for more than four hours.

"We kind of thought that (we might be violating the contract), too, but when you're looking at a deficit, you have to take a chance. You've got to do something," Kreuter said. "Without the (arbitrator's) award, we were already looking at $400,000 (for a year-end deficit) for the fire department, just in their salaries."

Kreuter, who said officials would review the arbitrator's award to look for any ways to save money, said the city will have to make cuts in other areas.

Mayor Don Culliver did not return calls from the News Journal.

Nathan Jennings, who joined the fire department in 2005, just wants to do his job. He has been laid off since July 12.

"I'm thrilled to be able to come back and provide the service that we're so passionate about," Jennings said. "To watch the deterioration of service take place ... it's been tough."

Harsch concurred.

"It took us longer to get places," the chief said. "Response time did go up a little."

Harsch said the layoffs affected how the remain- ing firefighters approached their jobs.

"When you show up at a fire with 11 people, you can't make that aggressive interior attack that we were used to doing," Harsch said. "We tried the best we could to stay safe, but our thinking was different."

The chief said he did not think the department lost any firefighters to other jobs.

"We're pleased to get everybody back to work and continue to do the job we were hired to do," Harsch said. "Everybody will be happy to have their brothers back."