Fire Chief Talks Cuts with Former Sheriff McGinness

Like many other local government agencies, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District has fallen on hard times.

, , this week discussed some of the challenges his department faces with someone very familiar with the local landscape: former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness, who now hosts a talk show on KFBK.

Recently the Sac Metro Fire District announced it would brown out two engine companies: one in Arden Arcade and one in Rancho Cordova. Henke addressed that decision, saying it was a part of a long process of cuts that have included pay cuts, layoffs and other closures. As a part of that process, Henke told a caller his own salary would be reduced 20 or 30 percent.

"It doesn’t make it any easier for those folks out there but everybody is being touched by this drastic drop in property taxes over the last two to three years," Henke told McGinness about the closures.

Henke also discussed the reason firefighters don't work traditional eight-hour shifts like most types of employees, saying they're consistently busy through the day and evening.

Click here to listen to the McGinness and Henke interview (begins at 14:30 mark).