Firefighters are breathing a sigh of relief after a nearly year-long struggle.
The Mattoon Fire Department will have to hire a handful of new firefighters. It's after a judge ruled that the city violated their contract last year.
The fire department is supposed to have more than 30 firefighters, but right now they're at 24.
The city says this is all because of money problems, and they plans to present a budget that's not balanced for this year at their council meeting tomorrow night.
Officials say they've been trying to cut back on city staff to close the deficit, but firefighters say enough is enough for cutting down their employees.
As firefighters have left the Mattoon Fire Department, there's nobody new to fill their shoes. After a judge's ruling, that will change.
"We knew we had a really good chance, our contract is extremely cut and dry with the language."