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Fire chief says staffing improvements could cut overtime but warns of fleet and equipment costs
Summary
Fire Chief Grogan presented a $12.4 million fire department budget that budgets overtime at $450,000 — substantially lower than recent actuals — while warning of aging apparatus, the need for new squads and rising regional USAR/HAZMAT costs.
Fire Chief Grogan told council the department’s proposed expenditures are $12,400,000 and said he had budgeted overtime at $450,000 for the coming fiscal year, a large reduction from recent years driven by recent hiring and expected full staffing.
Grogan said that earlier in the year the department ran short on personnel frequently, which drove overtime. He said three new hires are close to becoming “manpower” (fully deployed) and that reducing daily shortfalls would lower overtime over the course of the year. “I would think that we could hit that number without a problem,” Grogan said of the $450,000 overtime estimate.
Chief Grogan described equipment and capital needs: the department has a 29‑year‑old truck that is increasingly expensive to maintain, and the department is preparing specifications for replacement apparatus; a fully equipped fire truck or squad can cost roughly in the high hundreds of thousands to about $1 million and typically takes multiple years to build. Grogan said he expects a multi‑year procurement timeline and that the department is pursuing grants and representative state funding opportunities to offset cost.
Grogan also explained a regional cost increase for Western Wayne mutual‑aid teams: fees and equipment renewal for USAR/HAZMAT teams increased and the department’s share rose to about $22,000. He said the regional teams’ capabilities were crucial in a recent trench rescue and other high‑risk responses.
Grogan asked council to approve a modest increase in contractual services to cover EMS collections, vehicle fleet costs and other obligations; he said he may need to transfer funds internally this fiscal year to cover shortfalls rather than return to council for additional fund balance draws.
Next steps: council accepted the presentation and asked administration to include the chief’s capital plan and any grant applications in future materials so members can consider funding or financing options during budget deliberations.
