Council preserves 203 firefighter posts, approves $800,000 overtime transfer after public pressure

The Lowell City Council approved an $800,000 transfer to the fire department's overtime budget and moved to preserve a staff level of 203 uniformed firefighters after sustained public comment and discussions with union leaders. The roll-call vote on the overtime transfer passed after councilors first voted to take the item from the table.

The decision followed a steady stream of public speakers urging the council to avoid cuts to fire staffing after a major recent blaze. "These firefighters put their lives on the line for us," said Chris Romero, who identified himself as a resident and speaker in support of the union. Firefighters' union president Mr. Light told the council he had held productive talks with City Manager Golden and asked councilors to "take that next step with us and support this budget." City Manager Golden told the council he had "committed to not laying off any firefighters" after talks with union leadership.

CFO Baldwin told the council the revised appropriation included an increase in the fire department personal services figure of $688,742 to restore the six positions that had been proposed for removal, raising the department's personnel total so the city would reach the target of 203.

Council action included: removing agenda item 6.6 from the table, then approving the $800,000 transfer and the updated appropriation for fire personnel. The council recorded the overtime-transfer approval by roll call; the later formal approval of the firefighter personnel appropriation passed as recorded in the meeting minutes. A majority of councilors supported the measures after the manager and union agreed to continue working on overtime and other cost-reduction strategies.

The manager said the revised budget still aims to be balanced and that the administration will continue negotiations and explore options to lower overtime costs. The council proceeded that night with line-by-line budget consideration after the votes.

The council did not adopt detailed offsets at the time for other departments; the manager said he would revisit additional staffing restorations once state revenue numbers are finalized.