Fire chief seeks seven firefighters for second aerial; ambulance revenue increase cited to offset costs

Fire Chief Kenton told the Finance Committee on May 28 the Fire Department's budget needs include seven new firefighter positions to staff a second aerial ladder expected to arrive in December.

Kenton said the requested increase — described as roughly a 15–25% departmental rise in the budget driven largely by contractual salary increases and the seven new hires — is supported in part by ambulance (BLS) receipts. Finance staff explained the budget shows an offset line that increases ambulance revenue applied to the department from $950,000 last year to $1.2 million in the current budget; finance staff said that roughly $300,000 increase will help offset the cost of the new positions.

Councilors uniformly supported adding personnel and the apparatus, citing increased daytime population and calls. Several councilors welcomed the return of a second aerial, which had been taken out of service in prior years as the department reorganized companies to improve safety.

The chief and councilors also discussed so‑called "lift assists" — calls when assisted‑living or care facility staff request FD help putting a fallen resident back in bed. Councilors and the chief noted many such runs do not require transport and tie up crews; the council discussed exploring policies (including fees or facility responsibilities) to discourage repetitive nonmedical calls that occupy emergency resources.

No formal action to add positions was recorded during the presentation; councilors and the administration said the ambulance revenue offset and proposed hires would be handled through the budget adoption process.