Cincinnati fire chief faces 5 percent budget cut amid increasing demand
By Brian Hamrick
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CINCINNATI (WLWT) — On the same day as a fatal fire in the city, the Cincinnati Fire Department is being asked to look for ways to cut the budget.
Cincinnati’s fire chief faced the finance committee Wednesday and detailed how a budget cut of five percent would look and what would have to be cut.
The chief looked into the future of increasing calls and a decreasing budget. One number shows the real problem: 92 percent of the fire budget is salaries.
For every fire department, each call is a reminder that firefighters deal in the volatile currency of time.
“The smoke is zero visibility, very high heat. This is also the second fire of the night for all of these crews,” said a firefighter at a fire in Westwood. Crews were able to save one person, but another died trying to get out.
“A lot of times these fires reach advanced stages very quickly,” said Chief Frank McKinley of the Cincinnati Fire Department.
It’s a reminder that speed is crucial, and the more familiar currency of money plays a role in buying it.
“Life safety is our number one priority,” McKinley said.
McKinley was asked to lay out a plan for a five percent budget cut. He optioned the possibility of delaying recruiting class and minimizing overtime. With 92 percent of the budget being salary, positions become a target.
“It’s tied together. Budget and safety go hand in hand,” McKinley said.
The chief said there is one option that will not be compromised.
“We don’t want the public to be alarmed about not having service or having less of a service,” McKinley said.
The question is how to do that in a department making more calls every year but plan to do it at less cost. As the CFD strives for something not for sale but money can buy: time.
Despite all of the talk about cuts, most of the finance committee indicated that they wanted to make sure the chief had the money he needs to make the city as safe as possible.
Cincinnati fire responds to about 100,000 calls a year, and every year the chief says that number increases by about 3 percent. There are 874 Cincinnati firefighters.
The plan of delaying the recruit class could save money, but it also could reduce the number of firefighters, raising concerns about how much it would increase overtime, which is the other major cost component.
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