Select Board announces flexible staffing policy for Brookline Fire Department, effective July 1

The Town of Brookline Select Board announced on May 27 that the town will implement a flexible staffing model for the Brookline Fire Department, with the change scheduled to take effect July 1.

Town staff told the Select Board the policy is intended to “ensure that there's still the appropriate number of firefighters on hand to respond to working fires and other events” while allowing greater flexibility in how stations are staffed. The staff member said a press release and further details are posted on the town website at brooklinema.gov/firestaffing.

The announcement came during the Select Board meeting’s opening remarks. The staff member said members of the Fire Union “are pressing outside town meetings,” and added, “they're benefiting their own response to this decision, which is absolutely their right, and we continue to look forward to working with them.”

Board members did not vote on the staffing policy at the May 27 meeting; the discussion was presented as an informational update to town meeting members and the public. No formal motion or vote to adopt the staffing model was recorded in the transcript for this meeting.

The Select Board directed staff to publish the town’s explanatory materials online and to continue labor discussions with the union. The town staff member identified the July 1 effective date and provided the town web page for additional information.

Background: the department’s staffing model and any collective-bargaining implications were not detailed in the meeting transcript; the board noted the union’s right to press concerns publicly and signaled an intent to continue working with union representatives and staff to resolve outstanding issues.

For additional information, town officials directed residents to brooklinema.gov/firestaffing and said they would respond to follow-up questions by email or at subsequent meetings.