Sac Metro Firefighters Give Back to Keep Fire Stations from Closing

The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District's Board of Directors on Thursday voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that would save the district about $28 million over a three year period, district officials announced.

District firefighters modified their contract and took major cuts, Fire Capt. Christian Pebbles said in a news release. The savings for the district come in the areas of employee pension contributions, overtime salary reduction and new employee wage and benefit reduction.

Without the agreement, the district would have been forced to close between six and eight fire stations to maintain a structurally balanced budget, which may have included Carmichael's at 5634 Robertson Avenue, Pebbles said. This is the second time over the past four years that firefighters have modified their contract and worked together with the district to survive the current budget crisis.

Some significant fiscal challenges remain, Pebbles said. The biggest source of the district’s double-digit revenue decline is due to a depressed real estate market and the district must go further in reducing its operating costs, he said.

No specific cuts were mentioned.