Council hearing spotlights FDNY staffing gaps, EMS pay disparities and deteriorating firehouses

Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonseigneur told the City Council’s Committee on Fire and Emergency Management on March 13 that the FDNY’s preliminary FY27 budget is aimed at closing long-standing personnel and OTPS shortfalls while preserving frontline service.

“This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the merger of EMS with the fire department,” Bonseigneur said in her opening remarks, and added that “it is time to pay them a living wage.” She reported FY25 operational counts — more than 25,000 structural fires, 1.6 million emergency medical incidents and nearly 1,000,000 patient transports — and framed pay parity for EMTs and paramedics as central to stabilizing staffing.

Why it matters: Council members and rank-and-file union leaders repeatedly warned the panel that EMS shortages are lengthening response times and that firehouses and apparatus are suffering from deferred maintenance. Union testimony and council questioning stressed that EMS retention cannot wait for long collective-bargaining cycles and that a shortfall in ambulances pushes more medical runs onto engine companies.

During the hearing FDNY officials provided specific fiscal and staffing figures. The preliminary FY27 budget was discussed in the $2.6–2.8 billion range depending on line items and adjustments, with an authorized headcount of roughly 17,566 positions (11,294 uniform; 6,272 civilian). FDNY reported EMS budgeted staffing at 4,499 with payroll actuals near 4,174 (about 7.2% vacancy), and a year-to-date overtime spend that suggested continued pressure on personnel resources.

Council members pressed the department on EMS response-time drivers, hospital turnaround, and the department’s new chief savings officer. FDNY officials said ER turnaround times (from ambulance arrival to patient transfer) can average ~40 minutes and that a range of issues (staffing, hospital capacity, ambulance availability and rising call volume) contribute to longer delays. The deputy commissioner for management and budget described savings targets of roughly 1.5% in the current year and 2.5% in the out years, with an estimated annual savings target near $54 million to be reflected across tax-levy components.

Facility and fleet problems drew intense scrutiny. Committee members showed photos and work-order logs documenting long-open repairs at multiple houses, including water infiltration, ceiling collapse, and failed exhaust (Nederman) systems. FDNY facilities staff said roughly 70% of sites have generator backup and that council-funded generator projects typically take about 18 months from funding to completion because of permitting and multi-agency sign-offs. The department also described a capital plan that includes approximately $970 million across FY26–FY35 for large rehabs and new facilities, but members pressed for faster execution and clearer procurement timelines.

Unions demanded immediate budget fixes. Andrew Ansbourgh, president of the Uniform Firefighter Association, urged the council to fund a pilot in The Bronx to restore a fifth firefighter on engine companies in the borough’s busiest houses, saying higher staffing would reduce engine overload and help both fire and EMS response. EMS union leaders told the committee the bureau is losing personnel rapidly and that thousands of departures could follow unless pay and hiring are addressed now. “EMS paramedics and EMTs working for the FDNY…living in homeless shelters,” a union speaker said, summarizing the urgency behind pay-parity demands.

What the FDNY said it will do: FDNY executives pledged to continue recruitment efforts (a June recruitment campaign for EMTs was announced), to accelerate apparatus deliveries where possible (the department reported a roughly 900-day average from purchase order to delivery), and to close outstanding facilities work orders — facilities leadership said about 90% of Nederman work orders would be closed soon and that larger capital projects are scheduled to start where funding is in place.

Next steps: Council members requested follow-up data on borough-level unit availability, detailed work-order timelines for specific houses, the status of Nederman repairs, and precise estimates of savings initiatives and where they will appear in the executive budget. The committee signaled it will pursue targeted budget adjustments, including the requested pilot to restore fifth firefighters in high-demand Bronx engine companies and measures aimed at EMS pay and retention.