Facing a $3 million budget hole, the City of Fresno has reached out to its employee unions and have asked them to make sacrifices. The Fresno Firefighters have responded, agreeing to a 3% pay cut, saving the city $660,000 this year.

Association President Jerry Smith believes the firefighters have already given up their fair share.

“Firefighters are already being furloughed more than any other city employee. We’re taking a 96 hour furlough each year. We closed five companies down last year. We lost our fourth firefighter on three rigs,” says Smith.

The Police Association‘s contract doesn’t run out until 2015, and its president, Jacky Parks, says the union has already made four concessions to the city and is not ready to make more.

“I would tell the community at the end of the day when you look at this, to consider the concessions that we’ve already done, to consider all the layoffs, to consider all the furlough money that came in, and ask the question, why aren’t we out of this?” Parks said.

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