To the editor:

Actions of the Mehlville Fire Protection District Board are undermining the quality of the department.

Residents value qualified personnel and equipment from their fire department, yet this board is interviewing and will be hiring employees who scored 75% on their Firefighter and Paramedic Tests 2005. Would you want someone scoring that low answering your emergency 911 call?

In addition, this board disregarded polite requests from firefighters to review proposed changes in the pension plan, Amendment 4. Blatantly, the board refused discussions in spite of the protests by firefighters and taxpayers present at the June 20 meeting.

With previous wage freezes, reduced benefits, and now attacking the pension plan, it places firefighters, paramedics, and their families with paramount financial risks. Surely the quality of service to the community will decline.

Don’t be apathetic. Residents should enlighten the board that being fiscally responsible does not have to be at the expense of those who risk their lives for us each and every day they report for work.

Dorothea M. Jones

Concord