Bay City Mayor Kathleen Newsham used her rare tie-breaking vote to create a division of the city's public safety department made up of full-time firefighters, as opposed to moving forward with a 2012 plan to operate a department consisting solely of cross-trained public safety officers.
While an exact number of full-time firefighters was initially proposed, the amended resolution approved Monday, Sept. 18, gives the city manager the final say on the size of the newly created division.
Last month, Bay City Commissioner Ed Clements, 8th Ward, authored a resolution that called on the Bay City Department of Public Safety to staff no fewer than 22 full-time firefighters. That resolution was sent back to city staff for review.