BUCYRUS—Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser submitted the following letter to the citizens of Bucyrus. Reser explains his decision to veto the city council’s legislation regarding fire department staffing:
February 24, 2023
Dear Citizens of Bucyrus,
I have decided to veto the legislation that was passed by City Council last week requiring the Administration to have a minimum of six firefighters on duty. I am doing this because signing this legislation and allowing it to become law would set a dangerous precedent for future administrations. There is no legal basis to the claim that City Council can require the Administration to enforce minimum staffing standards. One of the Administration’s functions is to negotiate employee contracts, including minimum staffing. None of the city’s three union contracts, which have been fully approved by City Council, have minimum staffing requirements. Our Fire Department will continue to schedule six persons per shift. When vacation days, Kelly days, compensation days, and sick days are approved by Chief Schwemely then the staff will be four or five on duty.
Mayor Jeff Reser
Crawford County Now will continue to cover this developing news story.