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Budget proposes new public‑safety roles, EMS staffing and park rangers; $10M SCBA replacement programmed
Summary
The proposed operating and capital budgets redirect or add public‑safety capacity: six vacant police positions to be reclassified as conservators of the peace, a three‑FTE park‑ranger pilot, 12 EMS FTEs (including 10 paramedics) supported by the EMS Compassionate Billing Fund, and $10 million programmed in CIP for SCBA replacement for the fire department.
Budget staff highlighted several public‑safety and service initiatives included in the proposed operating and capital budgets.
Police: the proposed budget includes the reclassification of six vacant police‑officer positions to establish those roles as conservators of the peace, intended to free patrol officers from some behavioral‑health and social‑service interactions so they can return to patrol duties.
Fire and EMS: staff proposed $10 million in year‑one CIP funding for the fire department’s self‑contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) replacement program and a one‑time year‑one increase of roughly $9 million for apparatus replacement to address inflationary cost pressures and an identified backlog. EMS would receive 12 FTEs fully supported by the EMS Compassionate Billing Fund (10 paramedic positions and two support roles focused on fleet management and operations).
Parks & Recreation and public works: the proposed budget uses redirected vacancies to establish a three‑FTE park‑ranger program (park ranger manager and two deputies) to provide enhanced security and maintenance oversight in parks; public works also proposed a six‑FTE special‑events team to manage the growing number of events and improve operational safety standards.
Emergency communications and technology: ECCS (emergency communications citizen services) would reclassify or redirect four FTEs and pilot an AI tool to audit call‑taking and develop training materials; staff said the technology could reduce audit hours and inform targeted training.
Councilmembers expressed support for several of the public‑safety initiatives and asked for briefings from department chiefs (police and fire) on operational impacts and regional trends (for example, a neighboring city moving to a fourth fire shift), and for more detail on dispatch and EMS fleet standardization work.
Ending: Staff said departments will be scheduled to provide targeted briefings during the workshop series and council requested follow‑up on implementation timelines and staffing plans.
