Fire Chief Duford presented the department’s 2026 budget highlights and goals and took council questions about capital needs, overtime and training costs.

Operations and workload: Chief Duford said the department will pass 7,000 calls for the year and that about two-thirds of calls are emergency‑medical in nature. He told the committee the department logged more than 14,300 hours of training in the year and that steps taken this year reduced mileage on major ladder apparatus by 25–56% through changes to response assignments.

Capital and grants: Duford said the city received a state grant of $850,000 to buy a new Pierce fire engine that went into service in 2025. He said the department expects a separate state grant that will cover a “significant portion” of a new training tower; budget materials show a building-improvements line and supplemental material lists a grant amount for the tower program. Duford said the department reserved a production slot for a new engine to shorten lead time, noting standard lead times can stretch to three years.

Budget drivers and council questions: Council members pressed about several fluctuating line items: overtime and sick-payout amounts vary year to year depending on staffing and retirements; uniforms include turnout gear and personal protective equipment, and some increases reflect anticipated future gear replacement due to emerging regulatory concerns (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances in gear). Councilors asked staff for clearer links between capital items in the budget binder and the supplemental schedules that show grant offsets.

Discussion vs. action: the session included discussion and questions; no personnel actions, contract awards or final capital approvals were taken at the meeting. Chief Duford and finance staff directed council members to supplemental grant schedules for detailed accounting of state and federal project funds.

Ending: staff asked council members to review supplemental materials and said the finance committee will continue reviewing departmental budgets and capital offsets.