The special blue ribbon ribbon committee looking at next year’s budget for the Lehigh Acres Fire and Rescue District, will come up with specific suggestions and recommendations without putting Lehigh in danger with the loss of core services.

That was the word today from Rick Anglickis, chairman of the six-member panel that has spent nine sessions overlooking the budget line item by line item.

Members of the blue ribbon panel include Anglickis, the chairman, who is also the vice president of the Lehigh Community Council, which offered the fire district help with the formation of a blue ribbon commission; Laurie Jerriey, vice president of Colonial Bank in Lehigh Acres; Mike Wesner, a retired school superintendent in New York state and also a former firefighter; Jeff McMillin, the CFO for Lehigh Regional Medical Center; Patti Wheaton, a past officerial with the Lee county EMS; and Bruce Boyd, a former member of the fire board.

Anglickis said the panel spent three to four hours per session going through every single item of the budget. He also said Fire Chief Don Adams sat in on some of the sessions.

Anglickis and the panel are hoping for a large turnout from the public on July 14 at 6 p.m. at East Lee County High School on Thomas Sherwin Ave., about a block from one of the new fire stations on the corner of Milwaukee and Bell boulevards.

“We’re going to be able to save an incredible number of jobs and still provide adequate service for the safety concerns of Lehigh,” Anglickis said.

He wouldn’t be specific until the final presentation at the special workshop meeting on some topics, but said the group in his opinion has come up with a budget that will work and take into consideration the lesser values of property in Lehigh that will produce less income for the department, not only this year, but next year, too. There will be a Power Point presentation made that night.

Anglickis said they have put together a plan for the next four years, believing that the poor economic picture may have bottomed out already. They can see increased revenue for the department in the 2011-12 budget, but he insisted that the budget would have to be revisited.

Anglickis would not say how many cuts may have to be made, but it is expected some will still be called for, and if so, they would be effective on August 1.

The panel has not talked to the two unions representing firefighters and administrative people, but they are going to have to be be an important part of what may lie ahead.

That could mean concessions of some sort or cuts in pay or benefits, but Anglickis said he wasn’t prepared to get any specifics until July 14.

The blue ribbon panel will show that ambulance service can be saved in Lehigh.

“We want to keep things as we have presently have them,” Anglickis said.

“What we are coming up with,” Anglickis said, “won’t affect the operations of the District. We don’t want to say a lot more until we make the presentation before the fire board and the public at the high school.”

He did say that every person working for the District from the top to the bottom will be affected however in the budget recommendations.

“We have not talked to the union representatives, but they are a very important part of this budget, and it will affect them,” he said.

Anglickis would not say, but speculation is that there may have to be cutbacks on compensation, and a closer look at the benefits package may be taken into close scrutiny.

“But one thing, we don’t see where we will have to make as many layoffs as has been proposed in the present Disrict’s budget. However, what layoffs that may be suggested would take effect on Aug. 1.

“That would give us some savings up until the time the new budget goes into effect on Oct. 1.

“We’re doing everything we can to save as many jobs as humanly possible,” Anglickis said.