Friday, December 25, 2020 - 5:57 pm
OGDENSBURG City Manager Stephen Jellie is firing back at a recent open letter from Ogdensburg Fire Dept. Union President Jason Bouchard, which Bouchard says he wrote in response to claims Jellie has made for his attempts to downsize the fire department.
Jellie claims a $131,000 cost per firefighter, not counting operating costs. This is strictly the cost of paying each firefigher, Jellie said. This cost is not reasonable with the means afforded to the city and it is not sustainable without sacrificing all other city services and infrastructure; including the critical equipment needed to provide fire protection. Applying for and accepting grant funds (federal or state) for services well beyond what is reasonable and responsible is absolutely irresponsible and reduces our credibility when we apply for these funds in times that we really need them; we will not do that, the city manager said.