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Fire department highlights station-location study, EMS revenue and equipment upgrades; requests preplan software support
Summary
Fire Chief Amy Schaller presented the FY26 fire budget April 10, reported increased staffing to 104.16 FTEs, emphasized a station-location study (affected by a 30‑second call-handling improvement), highlighted EMS cost-recovery revenue and requested recurring support for preplanned building software and accreditation site visit funding.
Fire Chief Amy Schaller presented the Fire Department’s FY26 budget and priorities to the council on April 10, outlining staffing, response metrics, vehicle and facility capital projects, EMS revenue and a planned station-location study.
“Our mission statement is to protect, assist, and educate our community and visitors with pride, skill, and compassion,” Schaller said as she summarized accomplishments and accreditation work. She reported 104.16 full‑time equivalents (an increase from recent years) and described new training capacity at the county training center, additions of one frontline ambulance in 2023 that expanded ambulance coverage to three units, and an added fire‑prevention inspector that boosted inspection totals.
Schaller said a 30‑second reduction in dispatch call-handling times—an improvement the department has been working on with Emergency Communications—changes the mapping and recommended placements in the station-location study now underway. She called the station‑location study critical because effective response benchmarks (first unit on scene and effective response force) are sensitive to small changes in call handling and turnout time.
On EMS funding, Schaller explained ambulance cost recovery and payer mix: Medicare, Medicaid and private pay compose the revenue mix and the department projects roughly $4.17 million in ambulance billing and cost-recovery revenue for FY26. She described the Medicaid GEMT process (ground emergency medical transport) and cost-reporting steps used to capture reimbursement and said the department regularly reviews billing contracts and cost reports to maximize reimbursement.
Capital work and completed CIPs were listed: new engines and an upcoming truck delivery, station roofs and generator replacements, ambulance deliveries, a fire boat in the 2026 CIP, and station kitchen and exhaust-system upgrades. Improvement-request items for FY26 included annual support for the preplanned building software (the tool that places building preplans on CAD and field terminals) and accreditation site-visit preparations for 2026.
Performance metrics she cited included a high call volume (7,996 calls in 2024), a cardiac-survivability metric (survivability-to-discharge counts), structure-fire containment in the room of origin about 80% of the time and ongoing goals for first-unit-on-scene times. Schaller closed by thanking the council for past and continued support for equipment and training.
