The Syracuse Fire Department is getting the chance to defend its $46 million proposed budget during hearings with the city’s common council.
At a recent budget hearing, lawmakers praised city Fire Chief Michael Monds on how well he’s running his department.
But Common Council President Helen Hudson acknowledged there are more challenges to come down the road.
“You have done an incredible job of keeping your costs down every year, so I do want to applaud you on that, and we just have to keep the creativity rolling, so you can keep bringing it down,” she said.
Monds said the demands on the fire department are growing. He said 2023 was its busiest year ever, with crews responding to almost 30,000 calls, including 83 major structure fires. This year is outpacing last year.
“It’s really challenging to get down to one or two engines or a truck left in the city, while we’re dealing with a fire, or if there’s multiples fires going on at one time,” he said.
The department has been planning for potential challenges associated with the Interstate 81 project for years. Now, they’re also discussing how to handle an expected population surge from Micron. Monds said hiring more staff would help, and councilors said they’re open to building another fire station.
Councilor Pat Hogan (D-District 2) said the city would have to plan for the increased costs going forward.
“As far as building a firehouse goes, we’re all in on that,” he said. “I mean, obviously, we could bond for that, but it’s the 20 firefighters that you need probably, 15 firefighters you need.”
The Common Council must decide on a final budget for the next fiscal year by May 8. While another fire station is not part of this proposed budget, councilors said in the months ahead, they’d like to see more information on how it could help the fire department.
