Valley
Patriot Exclisive!
Lantigua attacks
Firefighters
for getting paid to sleep
Lawrence
Firefighters react to Lantigua's Attacks
TOM DUGGAN
Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantiguas war
against police and firefighters in the
city of Lawrence has reached a new low,
firefighters told The Valley Patriot last
month after Lantigua attacked them as
lazy and greedy during several city
council meetings and public statements in
the press.
Lantigua has accused the Lawrence
firefighters of refusing to come to
the table to negotiate in public
even after admitting that there would be
no negotiation with the unions. Lantigua
was offered a counter proposal of cuts by
fire and police unions that would avoid
most of the layoffs and demotions
Lantigua proposed in his original budget.
But the mayor refused to accept any
alternatives to layoffs, refusing to even
address public safety officials
offer to take a pay cut, give back raises
and make department cuts in other areas.
But it was Lantiguas comments that the
cops and firefighters were lazy, being
greedy and getting paid to
sleep that caused firefighters to
start speaking out individually.
One of the earlier speakers talk
about moral responsibility, I like that,
Lantigua told the Lawrence City council
while trying to convince them to approve
his budget which contained cozens of
layoffs in public safety while he was
handing out raises to friends in city
hall.
I dont think any of you get
paid when you sleep, some of them
[firefighters] do. I dont think any
of you get paid overtime on your day off,
some of them do. I dont think you
get paid to change your uniform when you
get work, and then change it back up when
you leaving. So, when we talk about
saving jobs, lets look in the
mirror. Lets be serious. Our doors
have been open from day one. I came
before you June first and stated clearly
(inaudible Willlie-speak). Most recently
some have eluded to try to negotiate,
eluded to.. to walk away and go home
thats it. And they want to blame
US? Thats easy to do. But if that
comes with the job I will take that
responsibility.
Lantigua said that if people get hurt as
the result of the layoffs he fought for
in public safety, the blame lies with the
Sullivan administration whom he blames
for the citys reported financial
crisis.
What the mayor did was gross. Ive
been a firefighter for about 10 years and
I have never seen anything like this,
one firefighter said after calling into
The Valley Patriot newsroom and asking
not to be identified for fear of
retribution like whats going
on in the police department and what he
is doing to Chief Murphy.
He wants to paint us like a bunch
of lazy clowns who get paid to sleep. I
would like to see Willie Lantigua climb a
ladder and pull a baby from a third floor
porch with third degree burns unable to
cry because she is in so much pain. Id
love to see any politicians in this city
do what we do for one week and tell me we
get paid to sleep. We get paid to miss
Christmas and holidays with our families.
We get paid to respond to emergencies on
a moments notice. We have tried very hard
to work with this new administration but
they were determined, and I include Bob
Nunes from the State Department of
Revenue in this, they were determined to
destroy this department for political
reasons. God help this city!
The Valley Patriot newsroom received no
less than a dozen similar calls from
Lawrence firefighters saying that they
were worried about the lives of those
firefighters remaining on the job after
the Lantigua layoffs take affect. One
firefighter said he didnt know
how this city can go a year with this
kind of staffing and not lose a life as a
result.
RELATED STORY: Targeted! Fire Chief Murphy: Im
Being Targeted
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