Rally held to protest proposed Lynchburg public safety pay cut

Lynchburg firefighers, police officers and supporters protest in front of Monument Terrace on Tuesday against a proposed city budget that would cut their pay by 3 percent.

By: Carrie J. Sidener | The News & Advance
Published: May 26, 2009

Just down the street from Lynchburg’s City Council chamber, some of the city’s own employees stood Tuesday afternoon in protest of a proposed budget that would cut their pay in the coming fiscal year.

Lynchburg police officers, firefighters and dispatchers gathered at the steps of Monument Terrace with signs displaying slogans that included, “Crime has risen 7 percent. Pay is down 3 percent. These numbers just don’t add up,” and “Is my life worth 3 percent less?”

They rallied at the base of Monument Terrace for five hours before heading to the council meeting for their last chance to convince the council not to adopt a budget that cuts their pay and that of all city employees by 3 percent. It’s been suggested that public safety workers should be exempt from the cut because of the nature of their jobs, and that is the message rally organizers hoped to bring home.

Leecy Fink, wife of a Lynchburg police officer, a downtown business owner and the rally’s organizer, said some 300 people stopped by the rally to express their support. Drivers waved or blew their horns as they passed.

“We want city council to go back to the drawing board and really think about what this means,” Fink said. “Public safety is the bedrock of a community. It’s important that people in our community feel safe.”

The pay cut, she said, will have real consequences for the families of public safety employees.

“It’s a huge impact on our family,” Fink said. “We won’t be going out to dinner. It will be harder to make the loan payments on our business.”

Douglas Childress, president of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association and a Lynchburg Police officer, said he’s heard from several officers who said if the pay cut is approved, they may look for work elsewhere.

“For my family, it means 3 percent less salary, 3 percent less of a life insurance benefit should I die, and 3 percent less when I retire,” Childress said.

Resident Mike Troxel spoke at the rally in support of the police and first responders, particularly after a car crash that injured his girlfriend.

“We need our local superheroes to respond,” he said.

City public safety workers got special pay raises in 2004, ‘05