Boone council approves temporary funding for additional firefighter to reduce overtime

The Boone City Council on Tuesday approved a midyear budget increase to fund a part-time fourth firefighter for roughly 60% of weekly shifts, a temporary measure city officials said has already reduced overtime and callbacks.

The council voted to increase the part-time staffing line by about $60,000 from the general fund, with the full package for the short-term program described by staff as roughly $74,000. The measure passed on a 4-3 roll-call vote.

Public Safety Chief Adam, who introduced the request, said the city ran a trial in August that showed a “huge success” in lowering overtime and callbacks and that the additional staffing would cover high-demand periods including Fridays through Sundays. “We saw a huge success with that,” Chief Adam said, adding the department’s overtime budget had been at about 65% last year and is currently around 12–13% for the year-to-date. He said the temporary fourth person would reduce “callback, reducing overtime, reducing burnout and stress.”

The proposal drew pushback from several council members who said the short-term fix did not resolve longer-term staffing and funding questions. Councilmember Mormon said he was uneasy approving a midyear increase without a plan for sustainable funding and said he had received public criticism through social media directed at the council over prior decisions affecting public safety. “This is a temporary fix, and I don't agree with it,” Mormon said.

Mayor pro tempore and other council members noted the action was meant to buy time while administration explores medium- and long-term staffing options. Chief Adam said full staffing to add a permanent fourth person per shift would cost substantially more—he estimated $230,000–$240,000 for a part-time-per-shift approach and around $350,000 to staff a full additional person per shift—and that the council would consider those costs in the next fiscal-year budget process.

After discussion and a brief exchange about the process for a budget amendment, the council took the roll call. The vote was recorded as 4 in favor and 3 opposed; those voting yes included O'Kelley, Williamson, Bird and one other councilmember; those voting no included Mormon, Angstrom and Henson.

The council instructed staff to process a budget amendment this fiscal year to cover the temporary staffing and to return to council with options for longer-term staffing and funding strategies during regular budget deliberations.

The action is a short-term measure only; no permanent staffing changes were adopted Tuesday and the council directed staff to develop longer-range options for consideration during the next budget cycle.