Priority list: City officials need to put emergency personnel at top

There is going to be plenty of time to talk about the list of wants and needs generated by this week's Goldsboro City Council retreat.

But of all the revelations, perhaps the one that needs to be most paid attention to is the news that the city's firefighters are bringing in their own furniture to outfit the firehouse -- and that some of the trucks are antiquated and other equipment can't fit through the doors.

There simply is no excuse for not making sure that the men and women who risk their lives to care for the needs of the city have the proper equipment to do their job. And what kind of message does it send that their city does not care enough to make sure they have basic needs in the firehouse?

That situation needs to be rectified immediately -- before another dime is spent on anything else.

And the same is true for other emergency personnel such as the police department.

This is not a blank check to outfit the firehouse and GPD with solid gold faucets, but it is a call to do what's right and to make it a priority.

And, fortunately, that seems to be exactly what the council has in mind this year -- big stuff that is necessary for the safety of the city's residents.

No budget for 2009 is going to be anything but a hope and a prayer. No one really knows what is going to happen when it comes to the economy in the coming months.

But it is time to set priorities -- and this should be at the top of this city's list.

Published in Editorials on February 19, 2009 10:53 AM