City governments are facing a difficult reality right now as the coronavirus pandemic has led to a revenue shortfall.
In Tukwila, wage cuts are being considered.
According to Rachel Bianchi, Tukwila's Deputy City Administrator, no decisions about wage reductions have been made yet. However, the firefighters union said they have already seen reduced staffing levels and they call it unacceptable. Lois Keller knows about the stresses that have been piling up because her husband, Levi, is a Tukwila firefighter.
"They've been doing this job for years with a certain amount of staffing and now they got to figure out how to do their job in a pandemic with more asked of them, with less people," said Keller.
"My husband still goes to work so we're still on that same schedule. I'm still at home with the kids," she added.
What is different is spelled out in a five-page memo.