Tacoma, WA facing $24M budget deficit, talks firefighter cuts
TACOMA, Wash. - The Tacoma City Council debated a big decision for its fire department on Tuesday night about whether to cut 16 positions.
The roles facing the axe are known as "rovers." Firefighter union president Allyson Hinzman compares them to a substitute teacher. The 16 full-time firefighters would fill in at stations facing low staffing.
Without the 16 positions funded, Hinzman worries stations might have to shut down.
But, the rover program was funded through temporary dollars made available because the city took the money from the EMS budget. Now, the funds are dried up, and the cost to keep the program going is more than $4 million.
The city is already $24 million over budget, and digging a deeper financial hole to fund the program is not an easy decision.
"We look at our call volumes. We look at the number of people that are calling 911 for help. We don’t have the staffing to keep pace," said Tacoma Deputy Mayor John Hines.
But Tacoma is already facing hardships with its fire resources, even with the 16 positions currently funded — Hinzman tells FOX 13 Seattle that the average response time for emergency calls is around 10 minutes.
"Which is horrible. Just so you know, brain death happens at ten minutes," said Hinzman.
The optimal response time is six minutes. Hinzman says cutting the rover program will only increase those response times.
"Our crews are going to get hurt. The citizens are going to wait for us to get there longer. And it’s just going to be a ripple effect that isn’t going to help anyone out," said Allycen Keatley, one of the rover firefighters.
Deputy Mayor Hines presented an amended budget to the city council on Tuesday. He says he is looking to invest in firefighters on the front end, instead of eating the cost later with overtime expenses.
The council is expected to make its final budget decision by next week.
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