By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- Potsdam’s fire chief say she is disappointed that the Board of Trustees and the village administrator have made a plan to cut the number of paid department drivers without consulting her or the volunteer members of the department.

“It is a shock to us that not once did they come over and ask us,” said Danielle Rose, chief of the Potsdam Fire Department.

Village Administrator Greg Thompson said the village plans to cut the paid driver staff from four to three just for July and August, in response to a New York State Financial Restructuring Board report to the village recommending a reduction in payroll to give the village a stronger financial position.

“We’re exploring every angle, every possibility, in every department,” Thompson said Thursday.

Chief Rose said she was particularly concerned about the coverage that the four paid drivers provide at the fire house for walk-ins, such as the person who came in Wednesday needing first aid, and for responding to auto-dialer fire alarms from the colleges and large businesses that are programmed to call the fire house first.

Rose said the number one concern of the department is the safety of the community.

“I think they need to put a little more thought into this,” Rose said. “I hope the word gets out to the taxpayers and they complain to the board. I would like people to call the trustees and let them know if they support it or not.”

Thompson said no official action has been taken yet. “It will be a temporary move if it happens,” he said.

Rose said she and Thompson will work to the restore the paid positions and devise a schedule for the summer, but that “the village board wants it done by July 1 and that’s not feasible.”

She said the drivers have a union contract and it will take time to negotiate any changes. “We can’t just flip a switch.”

She said she is an unpaid volunteer, as are all the members of the department.

“If they had to pay for full fire department, that would be a lot of money.”

Still, she said, she believes this development is “just a little bump in the road. We’re actively working with the administrator to restore” the drivers’ schedule.