Fire department proposes equipment upgrades, training and hires; SAFER grant reimburses four positions

Fire officials said their 2026 budget focuses on keeping apparatus in service, updating equipment and sustaining training while managing inflation for supplies and fuel.

Chief Smith and department presenters listed the budget's main elements: purchase of battery-operated hydraulic rescue tools for all engines, reallocation of an existing vehicle to add a snow-plow-capable pickup, prepayment of software maintenance to avoid a recurring-year lag, and continued spending on training and tuition reimbursement as more firefighters take advantage of those benefits.

Department representatives said an agreement is expected to pay volunteer-firefighter insurance and that building repairs remain in the capital/maintenance lines for station aprons and sidewalks. The department expects to recruit four new firefighters next year and left a placeholder in the budget for outfitting new hires.

On grants, the fire department said four firefighter positions are currently paid through a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) federal grant; staff said they expect full reimbursement for those salaries. A public question asked whether federal reimbursement is at risk; department staff and the chief said there was no indication the funds would be withheld but cautioned there could be delays in reimbursement timing.

Public-safety outreach: the department noted a prior community partnership that supplied smoke detectors has dwindled since the pandemic because donations have declined; a hospital donation and other partners supplied several hundred detectors last year but no ongoing source was identified in the hearing.

Ending: Fire officials said they will provide any needed follow-up on grant reimbursement timing and the outfitting cost for new hires when more details are available and will continue presenting budget line-item detail with the draft 2026 budget materials.