Joe Dolan, fire chief for Saratoga Springs, presented the fire department's budget needs at the workshop, focusing on EMS supplies, fleet maintenance, overtime and the interdependence of fire prevention and code enforcement.

Dolan said a large share of fire overtime is ‘‘shift‑short’’ overtime used daily to cover core operations; he calculated that shift‑short overtime represented about 73% of the department's overtime and that the department needs about 88 full‑time equivalents (FTEs) to staff a 17‑person daily minimum without routine overtime. "It's also an indicator that we don't have enough people," Dolan said.

Dolan provided specific cost and utilization examples: the department is behind on airway device replacement (seven devices at roughly $2,000 each) and its fleet maintenance five‑year average exceeds the comp budget request. He said frontline apparatus are often in repair and that deferred or insufficient fleet funds drive higher long‑term costs. Dolan also described portions of fire overtime that are reimbursed (events, hazmat, mutual‑aid taskings) and portions that are not, and he asked council to weigh hiring costs against recurring overtime and comp‑time payouts.

Staff and council discussed hiring costs, with finance estimating a first‑year all‑in cost per new firefighter around $131,000 (including salary, benefits, training gear and academy costs) and lower recurring costs in subsequent years. Dolan said he would provide additional vetted numbers for any hiring scenarios. No hiring decision was made at the workshop; the discussion will inform the amended 2026 budget.