On July 25, the Sun Journal printed a letter from Mrs. Elizabeth Snowman. In that letter, Mrs. Snowman voiced concern about traffic enforcement on South Main Street in Auburn. While I share similar concerns, I speak with a fair degree of confidence when I say it will only get worse.

I am a firefighter in Auburn. I also serve on the union’s executive committee. Serving in those positions gives me an opportunity to see that Mrs. Snowman’s issue is just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger issue here is improper staffing for public safety services. The city administrators have decided to gamble with the public’s safety and property in order to hold the line on the budget. Cuts have already been made in the Police Department with the knife being sharpened to slash the Fire Department next.

The concern that Mrs. Snowman needs to voice to the councilors, mayor and city manager of Auburn should be that the lack of police presence and inadequate staffing to manage fire and emergency medical responses is placing her, her family, neighbors and property in jeopardy.

Members of the fire and police departments have tried speaking for the citizens. Now the public must voice its concerns.

Mitch Sperry, firefighter-EMT,

Auburn Fire Department, Auburn