- The fire department is unable to add enough staffing due to the new budget
- Call volumes have increased by 78% in the last 15 years, but staffing has only grown by 3%
- Watch to learn more about the fire departments needs
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Some groups are calling for the urgent revision of the Omaha City Budget following Tuesdays City Council meeting, one is the Omaha Professional Firefighters. They're a union advocating for increased funding for the fire department
City Council held a public hearing to discuss the city's 2025 recommended budget. The Budget shows a .49% decrease in the fire departments budget compared to the 2024 appropriated amount. However, the fire department still has the second highest budget of any city department.
OPF president Trevor Towey says it isn't enough money and that first responders are overworked and need help.
"Over multiple years, there have been no increases and that's concerning and it's starting to catch up with us," said Towey.
Call volumes have increased by 78% in the last 15 year, but staffing has only grown 3%. In 2022 the city said they'd apply federal funding to bring Engine 2 back, however they were unsuccessful, and Towey says it won't happen in 2025 if appropriations stay the same.
"If we would take that money that we applied for a grant and put it into the budget, we'd be able to have another fire truck and staff for another ambulance to address the growing call volume that's in downtown or urban core of Omaha," said Towey.
Staffing isn't Towey's only concern, he's worried for first responder health. This year budget won't allow the department to do critical health tests to ensure employee's safety.
"Firefighters have a 14% higher likelihood of getting a cancer diagnosis than the general public. And that's just because of the job we do, so our job is making our firefighters sick. We need to have these comprehensive screenings to catch it early, get treatment early ," said Towey.
The finalized City budget will be announced September 10.
