NORWICH – If proposed cuts to Norwich’s fire department go through, emergency service coordinators warn of the ripple effect it will have on EMS services, not just in the city, but throughout the county.

On Tuesday, the Norwich Common Council heard concerns from many residents and members of the Norwich Fire Department regarding the possible elimination of full-time and part-time positions within the department by the end of the year. The idea comes as a way for the Council to trim the 2016 annual budget and avoid a double-digest tax hike for city residents.

Norwich City Human Resources Director Deborah DeForest explained the city suggests cutting five part-time and four full-time positions, with two of those full-time positions being reinstated by fall of 2016. However, two firefighters are up for retirement in 2016 and the city does not plan to refill those positions, she said, meaning there will still be four less full-time positions in the department by this time next year.

The proposed reduction of nearly $240,000 to the fire department’s personnel budget would mean less people on staff, and that means less availability to answer calls. And since Norwich contracts EMS services to such a vast part of the county, it creates a hole for EMS that will have to be somehow filled, explained Chenango County Director of Emergency Management Matthew Beckwith.

Beckwith addressed the issue to the County Safety and Rules Committee on Wednesday.