City of Salisbury to cut 3 to 5 firefighter jobs

Well, after having received $520,035 in federal "free money" grants in 2002 for Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety, then another $313,896 in 2004 for Operations and Firefighter Safety, the free money federal entitlements have been depleted. Staff had been added in the past ten years from the flow of funds from the feds. But now, without further federal dollars, and a new city fiber-to-home internet service that bills itself "fastest in NC [when it works]", the City of Salisbury is bleeding arterially from the losses being racked up by Fibrant.

Within the past 16 months, Salisbury has lost 5 police officer positions that have not been replaced. So in the Spring, City Council raised property taxes "a penny for police protection." Now, the City will be laying off 3 to 5 full-time firefighters, in order to have more unused money in the General Fund, to cover a portion of the Fibrant losses. How will the city cover the hole created by those losses? Well, beware to towns neighboring Salisbury---you know who you are. Your fire departments will be called upon by Salisbury to cover under the pretext of "mutual aid" to Salisbury. Check your rosters while you're at it, to see how many of your own full-time firefighters are beholden to Salisbury's fire department. And be on the lookout for non-mutual aid assistance to Salisbury, like your firefighters being brought to the stations in Salisbury to cover for them while their's are in training, and your firetrucks spending as much time in Salisbury as in your towns.

5 cops lost since February 2011, 42 other lost workers before the golden Treme parachute deployed last year, now up to 5 firefighters lost.

WHEN WILL THE FINANCIAL BLEEDING FROM THE PUBLIC UTILITY KNOWN IS FIBRANT BE RECOGNIZED FOR WHAT IT IS, AND SOLD OFF TO PREVENT IT FROM TAKING AWAY FROM OTHER VITAL SERVICES, LIKE PUBLIC SAFETY ????