Five City of Pawhuska employees to be laid off after city council approved next year’s budget

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PAWHUSKA, Okla. — Pawhuska’ City Council approved next year’s budget during Junes City Council meeting, but that means five city employees are being laid off. The layoffs include a firefighter, a police department employee, two people from the street department and one administration position.

During the meeting, people expressed their concerns to the city council. Billy Neal, who lived in Pawhuska his whole life and previously worked for the city for 15 years, was one of those people. He says he knows people who are losing their jobs.

“I think they need to look at other options and go about this another way and I know the options are out there.”

Pawhuska Fire Chief Lloyd Arnce says the fire department is already small. He explains the whole department is only 17 people, the fire marshal, the fire chief, seven paid firefighters, and 8 volunteer firefighters.

“We try to do the best job we can. My guys they give you a 110 percent, but when you take one guy out of the situation it puts everyone in a lot more stress.”

Pawhuska Fire Marshal, Michael Bayro says losing firefighters will make their jobs harder and limit response times.

“We are coming to a point now where we are going to be seeing a lot of one man shifts, so it’s going to be a one man response, so it can take anywhere from five minutes to fifteen minutes for a second man to show up. So you have the stress of just one guy trying to handle an entire emergency scene by himself and we are trying to avoid that.”

The police department will also be impacted by the budget cuts, Police Chief Forrest Smith sent FOX23 this statement in response to the layoffs.

“As the Chief of Police, I want to address the recent budget cuts that have impacted our department and, consequently, the citizens we serve. These cuts present significant challenges, limiting our resources and affecting our ability to maintain the high standards of safety and service our community deserves.

Public safety is a shared responsibility, and these reductions not only hinder our operations but also impact the overall well-being of our citizens. We are committed to addressing these challenges with creativity and determination.

Despite these obstacles, I assure you that our department will continue to prioritize the safety and security of our community. We will work diligently to provide the best possible services, leveraging partnerships and innovative strategies to ensure that Pawhuska remains a safe and welcoming place for all. Thank you for your continued support and trust in our efforts.”

FOX23 first requested the minutes from June’s city council meeting on Thursday June 26. As of July 1, we have not received them.