Bradford County fire-rescue presents $10.8M budget request, seeks three new hires to reduce overtime

Bradford County Fire Chief Jason Carter told commissioners on April 1 that his department will request about $10.8 million for fiscal 2025–26, including roughly $8.0 million for operating costs and about $2.8 million in capital and grant-offset items.

The budget packet shown to the Board of County Commissioners projects $5.0 million in revenue from fees, grants and program offsets and asks the board to supply about $5.86 million — roughly $30,000 more than the county contribution this year. Carter said that number includes three new full‑time positions intended to reduce overtime and improve staffing stability; he estimated the minimum potential overtime savings from those hires at $81,872.35.

Why it matters: Carter said benefits and insurance are the largest upward pressure on the budget. He told commissioners that life and health insurance costs were up roughly 20 percent in his projections and that the effective payroll burden for fire‑rescue is about 56 cents in benefits for every payroll dollar. He said that excluding nonrecurring items, the core operating budget to run fire‑rescue would be about $8.0 million.

Budget details: The capital and grant items in the packet included requests or offsets for a new ambulance ($350,000), grant matches ($100,000), an engine ($620,000, shown as a state appropriation), a tanker ($635,000), and a paramedicine/PEMT buy‑in estimated around $350,000. Carter said the department projects roughly $2.3 million in fee‑for‑service revenue and additional offsets from state appropriations and grant programs. The fire‑assessment revenue was not included in the packet and would reduce the county contribution if approved.

Staffing, overtime and operational practices: Commissioners asked how additional hires would affect overtime. Carter said the three positions are included in the presented numbers; the budget does not yet reflect a year‑end transfer to cover this year’s overtime overrun. He said the department currently uses on‑call and overtime to cover shifts when employees call out and that bringing on additional full‑time staff should lower overtime costs as new hires replace paid overtime shifts.

Commissioners and the chief also discussed alternative staffing models. Commissioner Andrews urged consideration of moving to a 53‑ or 56‑hour work week and making staff dual‑certified (firefighter and paramedic) as a longer‑term option. Carter responded that moving to a longer work week and mandating dual certification would not necessarily save money because annual salaries would stay the same and higher hourly rates could increase overtime pay; he also said mandatory dual certification could hurt recruitment and risk dilution of the department’s medical capability because some employees prefer to focus on paramedicine.

Safety and fatigue: Carter confirmed department policy limits continuous work and requires a 12‑hour break after certain spans; commissioners pressed that fatigue safety be maintained when arranging shifts.

Next steps: Carter said staff will provide more detail if commissioners request it during budget deliberations. The budget presentation acknowledged some figures remain estimates (notably insurance rates and certain state appropriations) and may change as those numbers are confirmed.