The decision by the Port Chester Village Board of Trustees to eliminate paid firefighters leaves neighboring Rye Brook without overnight fire coverage.
The board voted 5-1 Monday to cut eight full-time jobs in order to save about $800,000 in the 2016-17 budget. As part of a $1 million agreement, Port Chester had also been manning the Rye Brook firehouse overnight. Now, Rye Brook officials are now scrambling to figure out a solution.
Rye Brook Mayor Paul Rosenberg is confident that the neighboring villages will figure out a solution.
"We're going to come to some sort of arrangement with them...we're not going to divorce ourselves from Port Chester, we have a great relationship with them and we want to continue that great relationship with them," says Rosenberg.
The firefighters will be let go starting June 1.