Finance committee reviews police, fire budgets as firefighters and residents press to fully staff Engine 64

The Palo Alto Finance Committee heard police, fire and emergency services budget presentations on May 6 and spent substantial time on fire department staffing — specifically the status of Engine 64 and options to add single‑role ambulances.

Police overview Police Chief Eric Bender summarized the department’s FY2026 proposals: continuing hire‑ahead and recruit‑pipeline investments, funding for ongoing equipment (for example, automated license plate readers approved by council) and maintenance for the citywide radio program. He also described a state grant that funds officers addressing organized retail theft and said the department would join interagency implementation of a regional computer‑aided dispatch system this year.

Fire overview and debate over Engine 64 and ambulance options Fire Chief Geo Blackshire presented multiple options to modify ambulance availability and how Engine 64 is staffed. Chief Blackshire said the department asked for three full‑time fire captain FTEs (one per shift) so Engine 64 could be cross‑staffed without reliance on a daily overtime position. He also proposed a phased “single‑role” ambulance model — options ranged from a 12‑hour peak single‑role ambulance to a full 24‑hour single‑role ambulance — and staff presented rough cost estimates for the options.

Staff said one illustrative package (a 12‑hour peak single‑role ambulance plus continued cross‑staffing of engine 64 in evenings) would add roughly $800,000 in FY2026 and about $1.5 million ongoing; staff stressed these were planning estimates and committed to more detailed cost work. Chief Blackshire said a single‑role approach could reduce reliance on county ambulances; staff estimated the city called county ambulance resources more than 300 times and that in some single‑role scenarios the need for county ambulance service could fall significantly.

Public and union comments Firefighters’ union leaders and residents pressed the committee to move beyond continued cross‑staffing and overtime. Local union representatives said daily overtime has contributed to burnout and retention problems and urged the committee to fund a fully staffed Engine 64 rather than continuing indefinite cross‑staffing. Several residents and former firefighters spoke during public comment, giving recent examples in which Engine 64 was out of service for extended stretches while the medic ran multiple calls. One resident said medic 64 ran 12 calls in a 24‑hour period and that Engine 64 was unavailable much of the day.

Police staffing and technology Chief Bender described the department’s recruitment progress, noting the department has been successful at times in eliminating sworn vacancies but also faces a shallow regional hiring market. He told the committee his department is researching a variety of technology options (drones and expanded license plate reader deployments) but noted local surveillance policy and community privacy questions are constraints that would be addressed as any draft program is developed.

Next steps Committee members did not take a final funding decision on the fire options during the May 6 meeting. Staff said they would return with more precise cost estimates and a timetable for implementation; the committee planned further deliberations the following day and asked staff to include the budgetary implications of each single‑role or cross‑staffing alternative.

Ending The committee’s follow‑up items include a tighter cost estimate for each fire staffing alternative, an analysis of call capture and billing impacts if the city provides more ambulance service, and more detail about how proposed police technology purchases would be governed under the city’s surveillance rules.