Police and emergency medical teams report steady but heavy demand during fair; staffing debates continue

Police and emergency representatives told the Fair Commission on Sept. 17 that the civic celebration required significant public-safety staffing and medical responses, prompting further discussion about how to balance safety and event costs.

Lede

A police representative said the city staffed the fair with "probably 10 to 15" officers at peak overlap and that auxiliaries supplement paid staff. An emergency services speaker later reported 24 calls during a busy day, including a heart attack, seizures and a house fire; four transports were made.

Nut graf

Why it matters: policing and emergency medical services are a major line item in the fair’s operating cost. Commissioners discussed whether staffing patterns or auxiliary deployments could be adjusted to reduce expense while preserving public safety.

What officials reported

A police representative responding to questions said the department had been tracking incidents and that this year’s activity was "very minimal" overall compared with worst-case years, with typical issues such as lost phones and lost children. But the representative said the department routinely staffs day shifts and backfills posts with overtime for parking and traffic control. "I would say as a general number, probably 10 to 15," the police representative said when asked how many officers were posted during overlaps.

The same meeting included an emergency-services summary that listed 24 calls on one day of the event, with four patient transports. "First call of the day was a heart attack," the emergency representative said, and other incidents included allergic reactions, seizures and diabetic-related calls. Attendees and staff also responded to a nighttime lantern fire and an unrelated house fire that occurred during the event.

Discussion and cost-control proposals

Commissioners and staff discussed options to reduce overtime and staffing costs while preserving coverage. Ideas included changing where squads were posted, pairing squads with police auxiliaries or reserves, and stepping up recruitment of auxiliaries; the police representative said recruiting is ongoing and that auxiliaries provide "huge savings." The commission was told it currently had seven auxiliaries and that one had recently resigned.

Officials stressed limits to cutting staffing. An emergency representative said crews often ran two-person teams and relied on borrowed UTVs and mutual aid when calls overlapped, making aggressive staff reductions risky without alternate resources.

Ending

No staffing cuts were adopted at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to continue work on recruitment, auxiliary onboarding and targeted staffing plans aimed at holding costs down without weakening emergency response.