City and fire union officials talked Monday and will do so again Thursday and Friday, Assistant City Manager Rashad Young said.

A judge last week urged discussions between the two sides to resolve a dispute over staffing.

The firefighters' union has asked a judge to stop the city from continuing to operate some fire equipment with only three firefighters rather than the recommended four. The city started the three-man staffing in order to stop the brownouts, which the union also opposed.

The cost-cutting measures started in September after Mayor Charlie Luken singled out the fire department as needing to control its spending. Fire Chief Robert Wright projected he would go more than $2 million over budget by the end of the year if costs were not cut.

Brownouts save the city money by idling pieces of fire equipment instead of paying firefighters overtime to staff them for colleagues on vacation or sick.

But both the brownouts and the three-firefighter staffing create safety concerns for the public and firefighters, union President Joe Diebold said.

Wright stopped the three-man staffing while the talks continue. He is paying overtime for firefighters with $125,000 contributed by Reds owner Carl Lindner to alleviate the Tall Stacks festival's debt with the city. Council voted to put the money toward the fire financial problem.

Young said Tuesday half of that money is gone. When it goes, he said, brownouts could return.

If an agreement can't be reached, both sides will go back before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Beth Myers.