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Billings chiefs present annual fire and police reports, cite data upgrades and shifting call volumes
Summary
Fire and police leaders told the city council the departments are shifting to data-driven operations: the fire department corrected 2024 call totals and outlined station and tech priorities, while police reported declines in property crime and heavy activity by drug and special units.
At a City Council meeting, Billings fire and police leaders summarized their 2024–25 annual reports, emphasizing new records systems, shifting call volumes and programmatic changes.
Fire Chief Matt Hoppel said the department has moved onto a new records-management platform (NERIS) and used the system to correct its 2024 call total to 18,206, noting call volume fell to 17,914 in 2025. "This new system brought that to light, so I just wanted to make that correction," Hoppel said. He described how the department is tracking station-level demand as it plans future station placement and staffing, and emphasized the ninetieth-percentile response metric used industrywide.
Hoppel outlined several operational priorities: continuing a hybrid crew program and community-paramedicine pilots, expanding drone and river-rescue capabilities, maintaining specialized teams (hazmat, SWAT medics) and advancing facility work including a $1,000,000 capital need for Station 1 and a recent Station 5 remodel. He also flagged funding pressure tied to recent property-tax legislation and said the department is exploring alternative revenue sources.
Assistant Chief Sean Mayall presented the police highlights, telling the council that overall incidents were down about 7% while property crimes fell roughly 21%. He said violent-crime figures edged lower but remain relatively steady, and the department cleared about 66% of 530 major cases. Mayall detailed specialty and task-force activity — including nearly 78,000 fentanyl pills seized and 166 firearms removed — and described gains in evidence-management throughput and community-engagement efforts.
Both chiefs discussed technology investments: the fire department is piloting nurse-navigation and expanded ambulance-partner protocols with AMR, and the 9-1-1/dispatch center received upgrades funded through a 9-1-1 grant that Hoppel said supported a new recorder and enhanced capabilities. Mayall said the police department will pursue RMS upgrades to preserve and analyze crime data going forward.
Council members pressed on operational impacts, including how the short-term hold facility and data-driven dispatch protocols affect reporting and outcomes. The chiefs responded with program-level clarifications and noted continued emphasis on training, transparency and partnerships.
Council took no formal action on staffing or budget items in the presentations; chiefs said follow-up requests and budget proposals would be brought to council as needed.
