Freeport — Fire Chief Motley told council the Fire & EMS department is operating under recurring staffing shortages and increasing medical call volume, and asked for new firefighter‑medic positions, a partial set‑aside for an ambulance and planning for eventual engine replacement.

Staffing and workload: The chief said EMS accounts for the majority of the department’s calls and that call volume has increased roughly 300 calls per year over recent reporting periods. The department reported three current vacancies and has been as high as five vacancies in earlier months of the year. Chief Motley described the operational strain of backfilling shifts and said periodic overtime and training commitments reduce available staffing for other duties.

Requested positions and revenue offset: The chief proposed hiring three firefighter‑medics (one per shift) at an estimated combined cost shown in presentation materials (the packet listed $258,000 for those positions). He noted that properly cross‑training firefighters as medics also increases ambulance-billing revenue because engines can more often deliver ALS-level care on scene.

Apparatus and capital notes: The department asked the council to earmark $200,000 toward an ambulance replacement (total procurement cost staff gave as approximately $400,000) to spread the purchase across two fiscal years. Chief Motley said apparatus is aging — the primary engine is more than two decades old and has reached the point where pump tests and repairs are frequent; engine replacement estimates presented to council were approximately $1.7 million.

Revenue and cost‑recovery context: The chief told council EMS billing revenue has increased (staff projected a forecasted EMS revenue near $920,000), and recommended pairing new staffing with billing best practices. The chief confirmed prior federal COVID grants had funded prior ambulance purchases and said future replacements will likely require combination of grants, ESD/industry assistance or borrowing.

Council direction: Councilmembers urged the chief to pursue grants and industry partners and asked staff to identify available year‑end funds that could be earmarked for the ambulance. No final appropriation was made; council asked for a prioritized capital funding plan that includes industry outreach for cost-sharing before final budget adoption.

Ending: Chief Motley provided a detailed memorandum and asked to return with firm quotes and a multi‑year capital improvement plan for apparatus replacement.