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Council approves amended mid‑year budget; funds part‑time firefighter via general fund transfer
Summary
Bluffdale approved a mid‑year budget amendment after debate over funding a part‑time firefighter position. Council amended a resolution to fund the position with a general‑fund transfer for the remainder of the fiscal year and directed staff to return with a long‑term staffing and revenue plan.
Council approved an amended mid‑year budget resolution on Nov. 12 that, among other adjustments, provides funding for an additional firefighter to maintain staffing at both Bluffdale fire stations during construction of the 146 underpass and the associated bridge closing. The Finance Director presented multiple fund reallocations and carryovers across general, capital, RDA and impact fee funds.
The staffing item generated robust discussion: staff estimated an ongoing personnel cost of about $195,000 to convert the planned part‑time position into a permanent full‑time firefighter, and the presentation suggested the city could either use one‑time reserves, transfer general funds or increase a public‑safety fee to create a sustainable revenue source. Several council members and a resident speaker (Albert Larson) urged caution on fee increases and suggested reserves might cover a temporary need; other council members and the fire chief emphasized response‑time improvements on the west side with an additional staffed unit.
Chief Evans explained the operational benefit: locating an ambulance and an engine on the west station would reduce some east–west response times from about 12 minutes to as low as 2 minutes for certain calls and would enable more consistent local EMS coverage. Council ultimately approved an amended version of the budget resolution that uses a general‑fund transfer for the current period while directing staff to prepare a longer‑term staffing and funding proposal for the next budget cycle (the motion passed by roll call after amendment). The RDA portion of the budget was taken up separately in the RDA meeting.
The motion passed with a majority; council asked staff to produce a multi‑year staffing plan showing when part‑time positions could be converted to full‑time and how costs would be phased in.
