LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — With a city budget surplus, the Louisville Fire Department is asking for help.
The fire department needs more than $30 million to make repairs to deteriorating firehouses that have paint peeling from ceilings, holes in walls, no plumbing, and equipment that is beyond its serviceable life.
The Louisville Professional Firefighters Local 54 union is told the city has a budget surplus, and they would like to see some of that money sent their way.
“Ya know, fix our roofs, take care of the paint that is falling off the walls, put kitchens in where cabinets are falling apart and repair bathrooms that don’t function properly is all we are asking," Jeff Taylor, president of the Louisville Professional Firefighters Local 54, said. "We are throwing crumbs at the problem. We are never going to catch up if we don’t make significant commitments to this.”
Photos of Louisville's older firehouses show peeling paint, holes in walls and leaky roofs. The firefighter's union is accusing the city of doing little to fix living conditions after cutting funding for differed maintenance and repairs from the department's budget.
Taylor is expecting the city to have a $7 million surplus from this year's budget and would like to have a portion of the money sent to make repairs.
“So you are in bad shape, you know, this community is in bad shape, you count on us to show up and do a job," Taylor said. "We are asking the Metro Council, we are asking the Mayor to give us the equipment, and the tools, and the facilities that we need to do our job on behalf of the this community. When you put us at risk, you are putting the community at risk," Taylor said.
Tuesday morning at his weekly news conference, Mayor Craig Greenberg acknowledged the deployable conditions of some of the city's firehouses, but didn't specify if surplus monies would be given to the fire department.
“Yes, we do have firehouses that need significant repair and in some cases we need to built new firehouses because they are past their useful life,” Mayor Greenberg said. "If you look at the long-term capitol plan that we released, we call for providing significant investments into firehouses over the coming years ahead, so that is definitely part of our plan.”
The capitol plan is for next year, which Taylor said will add to the cost of repairs and further delay ordering new equipment.
“We said this, you and I stood about here two months ago, and the statement that made the news was 'the checks is in the mail,' right, the check's in the mail, and it has not arrived yet, it has not arrived," said Taylor
Taylor also said the department is way behind on replacing firetrucks. One of the department's largest aerial trucks is 18 years old and currently out of service for repairs.
“Ya know, a police officer isn’t much good without a cruiser, and a firefighter isn’t much good without a firetruck, and our firetrucks are in bad shape,” said Taylor.
The waiting list for a new fire truck is three years.
More Coverage:
- Council committee approves 5-year contract for Louisville firefighters
- Louisville firefighters say city is doing little to fix conditions at older firehouses
- Louisville firefighters approve city's 5-year contract after rejecting it in May
- Louisville Fire officials say department needs $31 million to catch up on deferred maintenance
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