Committee recommends $40,000 budget amendment to fund seasonal firefighter in Daee

The finance committee voted to recommend Ordinance 25-08, a $40,000 FY25 budget amendment to fund a seasonal firefighter (fire warden) assigned to Daee. Mayor Bass proposed the change and Chief Rauscher described the operational need.

Chief Rauscher said the seasonal position — ideally a returning, already-certified firefighter — would patrol Daee, stay overnight in a cabin on off days and serve as mobile incident command to accelerate response times for campground and incipient fires, EMS calls and water-rescue incidents. "They'd be patrolling Da'i... they'd be staying out there at nighttime. They'd initiate a quicker response," the chief said.

Members debated fiscal timing. Assembly member Waddell urged caution, noting multiple budget amendments recently brought forward and arguing for a fuller strategic plan and a net-zero budget approach; Waddell said many items were previously cut and cautioned against piecemeal restorations. Other members pressed that Daee lacks consistent on-site public-safety coverage and described the hire as a pragmatic way to reduce costly unscheduled overtime. Staff estimated the seasonal position could cover typical vacation or sick-coverage patterns and materially reduce overtime costs; rough ballpark overtime-savings examples discussed ranged around $6,000 for a two-week coverage period in certain scenarios, though staff called the estimate hypothetical.

Assembly member Potter moved that finance recommend Ordinance 25-08 to the assembly for approval; Chair Hanson seconded. The committee recorded voice votes and, with the motion carried, will forward the recommendation to the full assembly for formal action.

Next steps: staff will provide additional cost-savings detail and a more explicit overtime-savings estimate for the assembly packet.