Details on proposed budget cuts in Montgomery County, MD. Memo from fire chief outlines plan.
Read Friday’s memo from Chief Bowers
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service Interim Chief Richard Bowers sent out a memo Friday explaining the proposal sent by County Executive Isiah Leggett to the Montgomery County Council. It outlines $1.9 million in cuts for FY09. The council will have to approve the plan.
Chief Bowers recently took over the department following the retirement of Chief Tom Carr.
Chief Bowers memo shows the cost saving of each item. The largest savings, $750,000 comes from moving the start date of a recruit class from March until June. Other savings come from making three ambulances part time units in Hyattstown, Laytonsville and Glen Echo.
The chief also points out additional ways money will and can be saved:
Effective today, Purchase Credit Cards are not to be used unless the expenditure is either for pre-authorized travel or preapproved items. The same goes for Direct Voucher Payments.
All of these expenditures must be forwarded to the Fire Chief’s Office for review and approval.
There are also some simple things that each of you can do to help us through this challenging fiscal time. Examples of practices that we need to implement immediately including things you can do in the station include:
• Reduce utility usage. turn the lights off in the station when they aren’t needed, maintain appropriate settings for heat and AC.
• Close the apparatus bay doors.
• Restock units at the hospital . EMS supply costs are huge and every effort to accomplish this will help.
• Limit the use of office supplies to the essentials.
• Minimize non-essential apparatus usage – this includes utility vehicles.
We have limited non-operations requests for details – this will mean that activities such as conferences and other travel activities will be curtailed.
