As a lifelong citizen of the City of Auburn and an active fire department member dating from 1967 through 1985, I am appalled by the actions of the city council and their management with regard to the salary cuts on the fire department staff.

Due to the city manager and his staff’s apparent lack of management skills or ability to set viable priorities, the fire department loses staff (Battalion Chiefs John Bailey and Bill Zander), its remaining staff lose wages and any opportunities for promotion within the department.

Then comes the ultimate scheme. The fire chief wants to address his soaring overtime costs by hiring inexperienced firefighters at minimum wage to save money.

The real killer however is the cut in PERS fire pension contributions.

This will hurt the employees for years to come, long after this city council has gone on its merry way.

Meanwhile the core area of our city is torn up while taxpaying businesses are failing because of a boondoggle project costing millions. Should it ever be finished it can become another traffic hazard to join the clocktower project in Central Square.

The management of this city needs to use the funding they do not seem to have any problem finding for pet “touchy feely” projects for public safety instead of shortchanging the police and fire services.

WILLIAM J. TAYLOR, Auburn