From KWQC TV: After the Moline (Ill.) City Council voted to privatize EMS and eliminate 12 firefighter jobs, Fire Chief Ron Miller announced he would retire. Miller has said publicly he does not agree with the budget-saving measure.

Aldermen previously talked about raising property taxes to fund ambulance service for another year, until they could find out more information about private EMS. However, the majority of council members decided if they needed to cut the service, it should be done now.

The council did balance the budget by closing a $1.78 million deficit. There will be a public hearing on Dec. 6 and the budget will be officially adopted on Dec. 13. Read the entire article here.