As mayor of Oceanside, I've been proud of how city employees have coped with the changes brought about by the budgeting process, which has caused employees to do more with less and to give up benefits they worked many years to attain. As a former city employee, I understand and respect the "meet and confer process" used to reach fair conclusions to the bargaining process. Meet and confer is a good way for management and employees to resolve disputes, and it's the law in California.

Recently, the city used the meet and confer process with the Oceanside Fire Association. They wanted to make some concessions to save three positions crucial to an adequate response time for service including paramedic response. The human resources staff consulted the city manager and an attorney hired by the city, and reached an agreement including $531,000 in savings that allowed three positions to be retained.

These concessions amounted to giving back about $3,000 for each employee in the bargaining unit. The agreement went to the council, recommended and approved by the human resources director and the city manager. It was on the consent calendar Wednesday (where routine matters are placed), but it turned out to be anything but routine.

I was not the only person shocked when Jerome Kern, Jack Feller and Rocky Chavez rejected the recommendation and put this decision over to a workshop scheduled tentatively for September.

Everyone was fully aware that this decision would cause the immediate demotion of fire department staff and inevitably result in the loss of three firefighter positions. The decision was shocking because it rejected the good-faith bargaining that led to these concessions and put in jeopardy the entire meet and confer process. No bargaining unit will ever trust a meet and confer process in Oceanside, and with good reason.

The loss of confidence in the process was not the only tragedy Wednesday night. The unspoken message was that the council majority would do anything to punish any group that dared to support the recall.

Kern and his friends on the council could have shown a lot of character by separating the recall issue from the meet and confer process, but acted like a bunch of chickens.

California citizens have an absolute right to recall any elected official and express their own political opinions.

My own Republican Party recalled a former governor. Oceanside had four recalls in recent years -- some successful, while others got less traction. Members of the city associations have the right to use their own private funds for the recall, and there shouldn't be any punishment or retaliation against them. Kern has accepted funds from developers, out-of-town pilots and special-interest groups.

If special-interest groups have their voices heard in Oceanside, so too must employees and citizens. Despite the poor economy, public safety must be maintained. As mayor, I will never do otherwise, because your safety is too important to me.

Jim Wood is mayor of the city of Oceanside.