Milpitas council requests staff briefing on fire shift schedules; study commission for deeper staffing analysis discussed

Councilmembers asked staff for education and analysis on the fire department’s shift schedules and staffing model as part of broader budget‑year discussions.

Vice Mayor Barbado raised overtime and staffing concerns and asked staff to provide an informational report describing existing deployment options and schedule alternatives. City staff said an information memo explaining current deployment and schedule alternatives could be prepared in under four hours. "We can probably accomplish that in less than four hours through an information report and highlight what different types of schedules the fire department may be able to use," staff said.

Councilmember Lamb and others also asked about a fuller, third‑party staffing analysis similar to the 2019 study. Staff estimated a vendor‑led staffing analysis could cost roughly $50,000 and requires scope and timeline coordination; such a study would be a larger assignment and may be scheduled as a prioritized work item tied to the next budget cycle. Some councilmembers supported the information report now and deferring a full study; others were reluctant to fund a study immediately before the June budget adoption.

Mayor Carmen Montano asked that city‑school collaboration and youth programming items be pursued in parallel with public‑safety conversations, and the council agreed to have staff provide the requested information and to place any formal staffing study on a future prioritization list or the budget process as appropriate.

No immediate staffing changes were made; the council's direction was procedural: (1) staff will return with an educational information memo on deployment and alternative schedules, and (2) council authorized considering a third‑party staffing analysis at a later time as part of budgeting and prioritization.