THE ISSUE: The Oak Lawn Village Board, looking for ways to stem the red ink in its 2008 budget, has proposed laying off employees and eliminating jobs to balance the books. However, the proposed cuts have village firefighters crying foul because three of four layoffs will come from their ranks, as will three of the 11 job vacancies that won't be filled.

WE SAY: Given the bitter nature of the stalled contract talks between the village and firefighters, it's hard not to think there may be some retaliation involved here. Even if the village manager's per capita numbers are correct and the village does have more firefighters than other towns its size, laying off three people in one department rather than spreading cuts around seems mercenary and possibly vindictive.

To put a local spin on an old adage, if it looks like retaliation, sounds like retaliation and feels like retaliation, does that make it retaliation?

Here's why we ask: The Oak Lawn Village Board plans to lay off three firefighters and not fill three fire department vacancies in an effort reduce an unanticipated $1.7 million deficit in its 2008 budget. The firefighters union just happens to be embroiled in a stalled contract dispute with the village, one that's erupted into bitter accusations and some less-than-mature behavior on both sides.

Other than the three firefighters, the only other layoff will be a finance clerk. However, eight more vacant positions, including that of the information technology director and two public works employees, will be cut.

But here's the rub. Three new police officer jobs budgeted for 2008 have not been canceled or frozen, nor has the board tabled plans to pay $55,000 for a federal lobbyist. Suggestions to bring in new revenue by increasing the motel or utility tax or having residents buy two-year vehicle stickers have been rejected by the board.

Village manager Larry Deetjen said firefighters are misinterpreting the cuts. The layoffs, he said, can be justified because Oak Lawn's median per capita firefighter count of 1.75 per 1,000 residents is higher than the 1.3 median for towns of similar size across the country. Although the 88 fire department employees who will remain on the payroll are fewer than the 101 employed a few years ago, the figure still is one more than the department had after deep cuts were made in 2004.

Deetjen said that although the village would like to hire three new police officers so a full-time gang unit can be created, there is no guarantee it will do so if the economic downturn continues to batter its bottom line.

And batter it it has. Revenue from sales tax, permits, fees and other sources is expected to be $600,000 less than projected, and fines for driving violations caught by the village's new red light cameras are a half-million less than anticipated.

Despite the defense voiced by village officials, it is hard not to think the firefighters may have a legitimate point. It does raise questions as to why the fire department would take the biggest hit of all village staffs, especially because trustees have not been shy about criticizing firefighters for taking too many sick days, resulting in high overtime costs.

If you need evidence of how badly things have deteriorated, look no further than a January incident provoked by a note to the SouthtownStar's Speak Out column. The item criticized village officials and poked fun at Oak Lawn's tongue-in-cheek stop sign messages, incensing officials and prompting Fire Chief Ed Folliard to confront the letter writer and report the incident to the man's boss.

On the flip side, the firefighters are angry at Mayor Dave Heilmann and his fellow Unity Party candidates. The firefighters believe they're owed loyalty because they helped get them elected in 2005. Sorry, it doesn't work that way, nor should it.

That said, it's impossible to not think that what we're seeing, hearing and feeling is some sort of retaliation. We have nothing but anecdotal proof, but if it's true, the board's behavior is not only immature but foolish. Taxpayers don't appreciate playing games with the basic services they value most, and they appreciate playing politics with the budget even less