St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has reached an agreement with the fire union and will keep a rescue squad in service.
The agreement means that firefighters won’t protest when the mayor lays out his budget priorities Monday in the annual budget address.
Fire union officials were angry earlier in the week when Coleman stated that he would decommission Rescue Squad 2, leaving only two specialized rescue squads in the city. A protest was planned at the Monday speech.
Under the new plan, the rescue squad will continue but be reduced from five to four members. To pay for that staffing, though, there will be temporary shutdowns at another station.
Coleman’s 2013 budget speech is at noon Monday at the St. Paul Farmer’s Market, 290 E. Fifth St., in Lowertown.
It’s not far from the proposed new St. Paul Saints stadium. And in keeping with the new prevalence of food trucks in the city, local food vendors and shops will be on hand with food available for purchase after the speech.
In Minneapolis, Mayor R.T. Rybak is scheduled to deliver his 2013 budget message to the city council at noon Wednesday.
