Douglas County firefighters face furloughs
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. - Douglas county faces an $8-$10M deficit and made the difficult decision to furlough county employees for 5 days before the end of the year.
Firefighters and other first responders, who are one of the lowest paid in the metro area, consider the forced time off a pay cut.
Retired Lt. Thomas Woodruff says staffing shortages before the pandemic meant two firefighters on a truck, which is a dangerous level since the national standard is four firefighters.
The retired Lt. says the county had a staffing shortage before Covid19 and the pandemic complicated the situation, now the furloughs have made matters worse.
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"Not only did they take a $26M tax anticipation note just months before this pandemic, but they have had wasteful spending projects. $150K for part time asst for the commissioners when we are laying firefighters off," retired Lt. Thomas Woodruff explained.
Lt. Woodruff says the county building a senior center in Lithia Springs is another example of a project that should have come after essential workers. Douglas county officials counter by saying SPLOST money paid for that. The firefighter turned businessman believes response times will be affected.
" Fire stations are design to be within 8-10 minutes to maintain ISO rating and keep homeowners insurance low. When you shut down a fire station now, you don't have a fire truck nearby. So now you have a truck coming from twice the distance away," the retired lieutenant complained.
"Many firefighters consider the furlough days a slap in the face when you consider how much they sacrificed during the pandemic.
"During the COVID pandemic these essential guys and girls worked overtime, mandatory overtime, massive amounts of time and when they got exposures they didn't go home to their families. They were held as heroes. Now that the pandemic is winding down, they are non-essential workers. It's insane," Woodruff complained.
Firefighters have launched a website to get more exposure of their second jobs and businesses. If you would like to help, go to furloughedfighters.com
A county spokesman released the following statement about the furlough.
"Due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, Douglas County is implementing measures to help ensure the financial stability of the County. Unfortunately, the pandemic has impacted the county significantly and as a result, the Board of Commissioners found it necessary to make a difficult personnel decision.
All full time and part-time government employees are subject to five furlough days. Firefighters are impacted as a result, but the public should be aware that the fire department is actively doing its best to continue serving the community. The fire department is doing everything they can to minimize impact to public safety."
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