A four page report asserting that Mattoon Fire Department pension costs are too high was recently mailed to more than 11,200 household and business addresses in the city limits. Former Mattoon City Council member David Schilling wrote this critique. Mattoon Firefighters Local 691 has responded by saying that Schilling's report skews its presentation of various financial figures regarding the fire department while not applying the same critical examination to other city departments or past actions by the City Council. Schilling, who served two terms as city finance commissioner from 2001 to 2009, said he has long been concerned about firefighter pension costs growing at a rate that he feels is financially "unsustainable" for the city. Schilling said he started writing his report in January 2017 and went through many drafts before recently getting this critique ready for a mass mailing.