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Virginia Beach fire chief says department is ‘at a breaking point,’ asks council to fund more firefighters
Summary
Fire Chief (introduced in the meeting) told council that chronic vacancies, large amounts of mandatory overtime and health risks for crews mean the department needs more than the 17 new firefighters included in the proposed budget; the chief estimated a larger staffing shortfall and said the recurring cost for 17 hires is about $1.7 million.
Fire Chief (introduced to the meeting as Ken Privates) urged the City Council to address an acute staffing shortfall in the fire department, warning that long mandatory overtime and rising resignations have pushed the force "to a breaking point."
The chief described staffing dynamics that include high overtime, forced holdovers and increasing resignations and retirements that leave the department short across multiple shifts. "Getting to my full FTE staff was 140 people," the chief said, and noted that while the proposed budget includes funding for 17 new firefighter recruits, operational analyses show a larger shortfall…
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