Chico council approves city-funded cancer screening for firefighters and police; public-works review ordered

Councilmember Sean O’Brien moved and the Chico City Council approved a measure on June 3 to fund annual multi-cancer screening for sworn firefighters and police officers, with a direction to review extending the program to public-works employees in six months.

The 6-1 vote followed a presentation from Chico Fire Chief Steve Standridge and discussion of the program’s benefits, costs and limits. “Early detection does save lives,” O’Brien said during his motion, adding that the screening should not cost public-safety staff anything.

The council first funded the program for firefighters in 2023 and had seeded it with a capital line item. Chief Standridge told the council the city initially set aside roughly $200,000 to start the program and reported about $43,483 had been spent so far; staff estimated about $186,324 remained in that allocation. Standridge said the vendor reduced its per-person price…