By Travis Gettys
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A budget crunch could force the elimination of a position on the merged Bellevue and Dayton fire department.

The Bellevue-Dayton Fire Board, composed of two council members and one resident from each city, will meet March 9 to determine how to deal with the shortfall.

"I'm certain that this is part of the growing pains that come with the creation of a new department," said Bellevue City Manager Donald Martin.

The board will consider asking for more funding, borrowing money, and eliminating jobs, he said.

At the Fire Board's Feb. 25 meeting, Chief Denny Lynn proposed borrowing money to balance the budget and delaying firefighter pay raises. Administrators from the two cities disagreed with both proposals and, instead, suggested eliminating a position.

"Whenever you eliminate any position in public safety, you could create an unsafe situation," Lynn said.

When the departments merged July 1, 2002, former Dayton Fire Chief Lynn was named chief and Bellevue Fire Chief John Daly was named deputy chief.

"What we're trying to decide is whether to have two fire chiefs," said Dayton Mayor Ken Rankle.

Both men have many years of service, said Bellevue City Attorney Frank Warnock, and officials had hoped to avoid the issue. "The thought was that one of them might be retiring," Warnock said.

Some part-time fire department positions will also be examined, including a clerical position, public education officer and training officer, Martin said. He characterized those positions as "support staff" and said eliminating them would not hinder the department's emergency response.

The Bellevue-Dayton fire department employs 17 people full-time, two part-time and one on a contract.

E-mail tgettys@enquirer.com