Though a majority on the City Council objected, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak recently used his veto power to lay off 10 firefighters. As a result, the sworn force will drop to just under 400.

Whether or not that's the right number is debatable. It remains unclear whether 390 or 400 -- or the 2003 peak of 469 -- is the adequate number to do the job.

So the controversy over this handful of positions illustrates a broader concern: City leaders need to get a better handle on exactly what staffing levels and response times are necessary to provide adequate fire and emergency medical protection.

A comprehensive review of the Fire Department should also help determine where efficiencies can be found to provide the best service with limited resources. And it should examine whether excessive use of overtime, sick leave and higher levels of military leave are inflating the department's budget.

Both sides in the debate over the 10 positions raised valid concerns.

The mayor strongly opposed using one-time contingency funding to "plug a systemic budget gap" in the department's budget. Cuts in local government aid from the state have forced the city to use contingency funds to avoid layoffs in the department in recent years, according to Rybak.

His proposed 2012 budget would once again tap those funds to retain about 30 firefighters. Rybak and several council members said they'd identified permanent funding for those 30, but not the additional 10.

They're understandably worried that keeping the 10 positions now would only mean those firefighters would be laid off in January instead of next month. In his veto message, Rybak warned about pushing the problem into the next budget rather than making tough choices now.

Conversely, the firefighter union and eight council members who voted to maintain the positions are concerned about the impact on response times. Minutes and seconds count when a building is on fire or a citizen needs emergency assistance.

With the staff reductions, none of the city's 19 stations will be closed, but some fire rigs will be rotated in and out of service, creating three- to five-minute slower response times from a couple of stations.

To prevent that, a majority of council members had voted to save the jobs through the end of the year with contingency dollars and savings from vacant positions in other city departments.

The City Hall disagreement raises more questions than it answers. Since 2005, the Fire Department had operated under a council-approved set of standards that listed required response times and a daily staffing level of 96 sworn personnel.

The staff reduction is expected to lower that daily number to 93. As a result, last week the council rescinded the standards to give administrators more staffing flexibility.

Does repealing standards mean they weren't necessary in the first place? And without standards, how can Minneapolis residents be confident the department has adequate staffing?

To better understand how the department is using its budget, the council has asked Fire Chief Alex Jackson to report monthly on the use of leave and overtime. And the council has hired an independent consultant to review the department's operations and determine whether it can be run more efficiently.

Data and analysis from that review should help city officials -- and residents -- better assess the staffing and budget needs of a department that provides critically important services to the state's largest city.

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