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Bethlehem residents and firefighters press council to increase staffing as 2026 budget moves forward
Summary
Dozens of residents, many current and former firefighters, urged Bethlehem City Council to restore fire-department staffing and reduce mandatory overtime; council held a budget first reading that passed 5–2 and acknowledged both short-term funding questions and a city-commissioned staffing study due next summer.
Dozens of residents and active members of the Bethlehem Fire Department told City Council on a packed night in mid-November that the department is operating at dangerously low staffing levels and asked elected officials to find money now rather than wait for consultants. The council accepted the first reading of the city's general-fund budget for 2026 but several members said they will seek amendments to add frontline firefighters.
Union leaders and firefighters led public comment, recounting fatal fires and day-to-day strains from repeated overtime and vacancies. "Staffing is not a luxury. It's a necessity," Lou Jimenez, president of Local 735, told the council, asking officials to restore a complement the speakers said the city had for years. Rosemary Jimenez said IAFF data showed Bethlehem spends roughly "10% of its city budget on fire protection" and argued many neighborhoods do not meet…
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