Ft. Smith General Fund Cut Hits Hard

A 3% cut from the Ft. Smith General Fund was requested by the Board of Directors last month.  This is in an effort to help pay for pension benefits for firefighters and police.  In doing so, several departments are going to be affected.  The Police Department would be the hardest hit by the decrease.  They have been asked to cut $290,000 for the remainder  of the year.

The Fire Department has been asked to cut $169,000 from their budget for the rest of 2015.  Fire Chief Mike Richards said the department is looking at everything they can do regarding the 6-month reduction, as well as the $338,000 decrease in their annual budget.  This includes considering things such as a reduction in force, all the way to reducing their service level.

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