NORTH CANTON: In a move he called municipal “belt-tightening,” Mayor David Held on Tuesday offered firefighter/EMT/fire inspector Scott Kelly a choice between an entry-level job at the city water treatment plant or being laid off.
The entry-level job pays a base salary of $43,000 a year, $10,000 less than Kelly’s current base pay.
“North Canton can no longer afford three full-time firefighter/EMT/fire inspectors,” Held wrote in a letter given to Kelly on Tuesday.
Held states in the letter that the elimination of one firefighter/EMT/fire inspector position would result in an annual savings of $78,877 in salary and benefits.
Kelly, hired in 2006, had the fewest years of seniority of the three people in the job.
He has until March 26 to accept either the transfer or layoff.
Kelly is past president of the North Canton Fire Department and Paramedic Association, an affiliate of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
The city is “anticipating” a union grievance, city Administrator Mike Grimes said.
Grimes noted that other positions left unfilled include the director of administrative services, two full-time positions in the police department, a full-time meter reader and a full-time EMS position.
The city’s general fund is expected to decrease by 74 percent this year, Held said. A negative general fund balance of more than $700,000 is projected in 2014.
Salaries are paid from the general fund.