Monroeville public-safety leaders ask for modest increases as call volumes and equipment costs rise

Fire chiefs, EMS leaders and the police chief described rising demand and equipment costs that contributed to their 2026 budget requests.

Fire chiefs said they requested an additional $10,500 in a fire-suppression expense line to help replace or outfit personnel with PPE (coats, pants, boots, helmets and hoods), citing industry-wide cost increases for turnout gear and PPE hygiene practices. They noted some PPE funding historically came from state fire-relief funds but that those sources have diminished.

EMS leaders asked the council to increase the ambulance-contributions line by $65,000 (about an 18.9% increase) to keep pace with growing call volumes and personnel costs; Monroeville EMS runs roughly 9,000-10,000 calls a year, they said, and individual stations bill and pay staff separately, with the municipal contribution allocated by vehicle.

Police Chief Doug Cole reported the department handled 16,646 calls in 2024 and anticipates about 18,000 this year. He described plans to add one patrol officer in 2026, create a new civil-service hiring list, move a commander position into administration, and add a civilian records/dispatch position to handle rising reporting and traffic-stop data requirements. Chief Cole said reallocating OPEB costs to departments adds roughly $1.295 million across police budget lines, affecting overtime and staffing calculations.

Council and staff discussed grant-seeking to offset purchases, the public-safety training center's revenue and value (training space and hosted programs), and long-term funding models, including the possibility of a fire tax to sustain a different mix of paid and volunteer services. No formal actions were taken at the hearing; council asked staff to return with more detailed cost and funding scenarios.