Parma council reviews 2026 public-safety budgets as officials flag equipment, station and staffing costs

Parma City Council reviewed the 2026 public‑safety budget proposals at a budget hearing, as department leaders flagged equipment replacements, facility repairs and near‑term staffing changes that will shape spending next year.

Fire Chief Lasky told council the fire budget reflects contractual salary and benefit costs and a series of planned repairs and equipment work. The department has identified obsolete windows at Stations 4 and 5 (built in 1969) and is budgeting about $30,000 for window replacement work, Lasky said. He also described plans to remount an ambulance — removing the back, refurbishing the patient compartment and placing it on a new chassis — at an estimated cost of $250,000, and said new ambulances and fire trucks now cost in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. “To buy a new ambulance nowadays is $450,000. To buy a new fire truck is over $1,000,000 now,” the chief said.

Chief Lasky and councilors discussed a Knox Box lockbox…