ONE OF THE MOST important parts of a labor contract between police and fire unions and the municipalities they serve is minimum manning. There, management and labor agree on the minimum number of personnel necessary to provide adequate protection to their communities.

In a true spirit of cooperation, both sides decide how best to protect their people. It is a great example of government and public-sector unions working for the common good. A minimum-manning agreement protects the populace as well as the protectors. In difficult economic times an easy fix to a politician’s bottom line is to cut staffing. These agreements prohibit that.

I’m worried about the failing economy. My property taxes are already high, my paycheck barely covers the necessities and my savings and retirement funds have dwindled away to next to nothing. I haven’t had a raise in years; my employer is threatening layoffs, salary cuts, increased contributions to health care and pension cutbacks. Advancement is stagnant, bonuses don’t exist and my workload increases every day. I know I’m no different from most Rhode Islanders; these are tough times. I expect a struggle in the coming years, but I’m confident we will persevere and be better people for our struggles.

What is disturbing is the lack of leadership and accountability I see from my elected leaders. Governor Carcieri announced a plan to balance the state budget that includes ending minimum-manning contractual language from arbitration proceedings for police and fire departments. I do not have a staff available to study the other provisions of the governor’s plan and offer suggestions, but I do know a thing or two about what happens on the street level.

I’m a rescue lieutenant working on Rescue 1 in South Providence. I am not an expert on the subject of contractual provisions for minimum manning. I have no idea how many tax dollars could be saved if laws are changed letting mayors shift manpower, reduce staffing and close fire companies. I don’t even know what the minimum-manning level is in Providence. I do know we don’t have enough people to keep the city safe at present levels.

From my seat I witness Providence’s manpower used beyond the breaking point daily. Day after day, we are forced to tap resources from surrounding communities to answer 911 calls. Crews from Cranston, East Providence, Johnston, Pawtucket and anywhere else Providence can find fill the void when we need emergency responders. The people in those communities are under-protected while their first responders are busy bailing out their neighbors in the capital. It is a recipe for disaster.

Imagine your town managers wielding the power to under-staff their respective public safety departments as a cost-cutting measure. What looks good on paper loses its luster in reality. Close Fire Company A rather than staff it with overtime, shut down Rescue Company B for the night because a person was sick, deploy three patrolmen on the Southside rather than five when an officer is on vacation — whatever works is best for the bottom line, right? Wrong. Dangerously wrong.

One thing that is imperative in the fire/EMS service is consistency. From our end, we need to know where our resources lie, how long before they arrive, and how many will show up when called. While I am doing CPR with my partner, I’m also formulating a plan based on my expectations. I know Engine Company 11 has been dispatched from the Reservoir Avenue Fire Station and will arrive within a few minutes with three firefighters on board. I’ll need two trained people to continue CPR, one to drive the rescue, my partner to monitor the heart, administer oxygen and start IVs. That leaves me to administer medications, defibrillate, document and contact medical control. Nobody is idle during an emergency. Often we have nobody left to drive the fire engine. We do the best we can and make due with what we have.

What if the mayor closed Engine 11 for the night rather than pay overtime? What if two firefighters showed up five minutes later than planned? What chance, if any, the patient had for survival would be tossed aside because of irresponsible budgeting? Is this the best our society can do?

In business, management rights are vital for operating in the most cost-efficient manner possible. In government, especially public safety, those management rights serve as a detriment to the service government is entrusted to provide. Immense pressure is put on our elected leaders. Caving in to that pressure is not something they do lightly, especially when their actions put regular citizens at risk, but it is a gamble they will be willing to take if given the opportunity.

Minimum manning is not something police and fire unions hold onto to force cash-strapped municipalities to pay overtime. A properly funded and staffed organization wouldn’t need overtime to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Overtime is not our incentive; the safety of our members and the public we protect is what is at stake. We are honorable people working in an honorable profession. Bad things happen to people every day, all around us. It is our job, our duty, to do our best to make things right. It takes the proper number of people to do the job properly. Who is better to say what that number is: the people on the street, or the people in the office?

Public safety isn’t the fat, or gravy, or even the meat in the equation. We are the backbone holding the fabric of society together. You trust us with your lives, and we would never betray that trust. So trust me when I ask: Leave the manning levels to us!

Michael Morse, of Warwick, is a lieutenant in the Providence Fire Department, a member of the Providence firefighters union and the author of Rescuing Providence.