KITCHENER — City councillors cut the budgets for the fire department, library system, Centre in the Square and summer playground programs for low-income children to bring down a 2012 budget Thursday that increases the tax rate by 2.4 per cent.

While they declined to cut some their own expenses, councillors voted to divert profits from the municipal gas utility to mitigate the tax hike.

The unprecedented cut to the fire department’s budget will see up to $204,000 removed from overtime pay. Fire Chief Tim Beckett warned city councillors the move will mean one of the department’s two aerial trucks will be out of commission about 20 per cent of the time.

Beckett told city councillors he does not recommend the cutbacks, and only tabled the reductions because he was directed to do so.

“I think we are already at our minimum level of fire protection response,” Beckett said.

The fire department aims for a response time of seven minutes for the first few firefighters, and a total of 15 firefighters after 12 minutes. That standard is achieved in 90 per cent of calls.

Beckett said the cuts will mean longer response times and impact the safety of firefighters and the public.

“Now I don’t want to stand here in front of council and say: ‘People will die,’” Beckett said, “because I don’t want to put that fear-mongering there, but I believe there is a risk, a probable risk to public safety.”

“There is a risk there that I am not willing to take,” Mayor Carl Zehr said.

Added Coun. Bil Ioannidis: “I think this is one of the essential services the public expects us to protect them with and to ensure they are safe and secure.”

Coun. John Gazzola asked the most questions of the fire chief and then voted in favour of the cutback.

“We do have a real problem with the cost of firefighting,” Gazzola said. “I think this can work. I think we can try it.”

The fire department budget consumes 25.3 per cent of the property taxes collected every year. That amounts to about $241 per household. It is by far the most expensive city service.

The fire department aims to have 37 firefighters on duty for each shift. For 40 per cent of all shifts, at least one firefighter had to be called in on overtime. For years, the department has exceeded its overtime budget. In the past few months, the need to call in firefighters on overtime has dropped to about 20 per cent of the shifts.

With the cuts approved Thursday, no firefighters will be called in for an overtime shift until the total on duty has dropped to below 35. Instead, an aerial truck will be taken out of service.

Coun. Scott Davey, the chair of the finance committee, said he did not like the cuts, but felt he had to support the reduction because the fire department’s budget is the largest among all the city services.

Coun. Kelly Galloway said the fire department cuts will only save the average household about $2 a year, but will increase the risk of harm to residents.

“This is the most disappointing decision,” a tearful Galloway said. “That makes me very sad.”

When all the cutting was done, council was left with a 2.4 per cent property tax increase. That would add about another $23 a year on a home assessed at $203,000. Stormwater fees will rise $4, water rates will go up an average of $14 and sewage charges will rise about $17.

Among other budgetary reductions, $7,391 was cut from a summer playground program that will see up to three of the five programs close. The programs had been designed to have low registration fees to ensure they were accessible to children from low-income households.

The $60,000 reduction in the library’s budget will mean staffing cutbacks and less money for new materials. The box office at the Centre in the Square will be open for fewer hours.

But when Coun. Frank Etherington tried to get a majority of councillors to support reductions that would directly impact the elected officials, they balked.

Councillors now get $5,000 a year for home office and technology expenses and a majority refused to cut back on that. Councillors are now allowed to attend up to three conferences a year, but a majority refused to reduce that to two conferences annually.

Coun. Daniel Glenn-Graham wanted to take $10,000 out of a program called Toonie Tuesdays that is heavily used by single mothers. The events, at the civic square during the summer, have crafts and entertainment for mothers and small children.

Glenn-Graham wanted to spend that money on expanding the New Year’s Eve celebration in front of City Hall with a beer tent and more blues musicians. That suggestion was defeated.

“I can not support taking money way from children and mothers and putting it toward an alcohol event,” Coun. Berry Vrbanovic said. “I like to have a drink as much as anyone, but that’s not right.”

After spending hours on a list of mostly small cuts, city councillors voted to take $500,000 in profits from the natural gas utility to reduce the tax-rate increase.

tpender@therecord.com