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Thursday, May 15, 2008
EMS Hiring Still A Touchy Subject In City Hall
Council is uneasy about the slow pace of paramedic hiring.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers had another rocky conversation with City Council this week about his department's recruitment of paramedics to staff city medic units. Mayor Nutter this year budgeted $3.9 million more to boost paramedic hiring as of July 1.  City Council President Anna Verna told Ayers during budget testimony Wednesday the she remains "very, very disturbed" by the pace of hiring to deal with long-running staff shortages.  Councilman Frank Rizzo touched off the dust-up with Ayers, accusing the department of "dragging our feet" on hiring.

Ayers, who already had outstanding requests for information from Council and new requests added Wednesday, responded to Rizzo with a letter later in the day.  In the letter, Ayers told Rizzo that any questions about the Fire Department had to go to the mayor's director of legislative affairs. Copies of the letter were sent to Nutter and his deputy mayor for public safety.

Rizzo today called that a disappointment. "For him to not be able to speak about the issues that affect the department he runs and the citizens that I represent is a sad situation," Rizzo said. "It surprises me. I've been in this business for a while now. This is a first."

Nutter spokesman Doug Oliver responded by saying the letter represented no change in how information was being given to Council. "Our personnel office continues to work with the Fire Department on its staffing challenges."

Posted by Chris Brennan @ 2:29 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Chris Brennan and Catherine Lucey
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.

Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002. Since then she has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. For the past two years, she covered the 2007 mayoral election. Now that the battle is over, she has moved down to the City Hall bureau where she will report on the Nutter administration.

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Catherine Lucey
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