Big Bear Fire Authority adopts amended 2025-26 budget after heated debate over brownouts, reserves and ambulance costs

The Big Bear Fire Authority approved an amended fiscal year 2025–26 budget at its Sept. 9 meeting after a lengthy and sometimes contentious discussion about staffing levels, overtime and how to fund the department.

Chief Luke Wagner presented the budget the board had seen in prior sessions: an operating plan that included roughly $1 million in additional reserves and a set of possible cuts the administration and the finance ad hoc committee had discussed. Wagner and staff described about $2.1 million in potential reductions that could be achieved by a mix of personnel changes, deferred capital work and operational adjustments. Those proposals included delaying a $150,000 roof replacement at Station 282, eliminating a health retirement account (HRA) benefit for ambulance operators ($75,000), not backfilling two vacant firefighter positions (estimated $276,364), reductions in administrative pay, and the use of targeted engine “brownouts” estimated to save about $440,000 annually. Wagner told the board the list of options was intended to reduce the likelihood of brownouts but that many of the reductions would themselves affect service capacity.

The board debated the proposals for more than two hours. Directors pressed staff for more detail on ambulance revenue and the department’s large overtime line (the budget showed nearly $589,000 of ambulance overtime), the composition of the $237,430 fire‑prevention salary…