City to add summer‑season firefighters; council seeks federal support for new fire vehicle

The council received updates on fire‑department staffing and a congressional funding request for a new fire vehicle.

Staff said the city received a grant to hire two summer seasonal firefighters; those hires will increase capacity for mutual‑aid wildfire responses and allow the department to backfill more shifts when personnel are deployed to incidents. The chief has already deployed staff to out‑of‑area incidents and staff noted added overtime and vehicle use associated with mutual aid.

Councilors also reported a congressional request for a public‑safety vehicle (described to support fire operations) passed an initial federal screening. Staff characterized the federal funding request as advancing past an initial hurdle in Congress and into program review; the request was described in meeting comments as an earmark or congressional funding request for a new fire truck or public‑safety vehicle. Councilors said the request remains subject to final appropriation and the governor’s actions on the overall state package.

Councilors urged continued pursuit of state and federal funding for fire and water needs and agreed to coordinate on priority asks for the upcoming funding cycles.