Gilroy taxpayers, many of whom who have been forced to make difficult economic sacrifices, are unlikely keep accepting the lavish benefits, the top-tier pay scale, the exceptional working conditions and the absurd overtime costs related to their fire department.

There has to be a fundamental restructuring before the city descends further into the political and financial theater of the absurd.

It's absurd, for example, when the firefighters put out flyers which claim, essentially, that the City Council and the mayor don't care about Gilroy and the safety of residents. Really? They certainly aren't doing the job for lavish pay and benefits. They do care, but they care about, thankfully, what's best for the community of Gilroy, not just what's best for firefighters.

The suggestion from Gilroy Fire Local 2805 - that the city dip into reserves to re-hire laid-off firefighters and fully staff the Sunrise Fire Station - is fiscally irresponsible. Unfortunately, it's symptomatic of a union in full-blown denial. What are we going to do when the reserves run out?

It's tempting to suggest to the Council that they collectively say "the heck with it" and give the firefighters a nice, fat raise and re-hire all those employees laid off. The reserves would be gone in a jiffy. Then perhaps, we could rebuild our city budget, allocating precious budget dollars where we see fit for community benefit.

Would Gilroyans merely nod and agree with Jim Buessing, secretary and treasurer of Local 2805, who said, "The priority is public safety. (The city needs) to understand that. Public safety needs to be No. 1 in their lives - not parks, not trees"? Or would they want to know more about overtime charges, benefit costs, retirement packages and the "necessity" of having four firefighters on an engine?

Residents aren't likely to be swallowing hook, line and sinker the union line. Gilroyans want and deserve nice parks, street trees, smooth sidewalks, good recreation programs and more. It is about how much fire protection costs and why it costs so much currently. And it's about what we can't we do as a community because we spend such a hefty amount of our precious dollars on firefighter salaries, overtime and benefits.

There's even more: The Sunrise Fire Station received only 343 calls for service - the vast majority medical, of course - for the entire year in 2008. The homes in the northwest quad are newer and far safer due to better building materials and stricter codes.

To ignore the facts and the reality is, truly, absurd. Rather, the City Council should take its gloves off and fight for the residents. Gilroy should formally ask for proposals from County Fire and CalFire for fire protection. Gilroy should look at contracting for additional American Medical Response ambulance service and significantly scaling back fire engine response for straightforward medical aid.

It's not about what's best for Gilroy firefighters, it's about what's best for the whole Gilroy community.