photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical ambulance is pictured in July 2023.

Ahead of the first public meeting that will discuss the city’s proposed 2026 budget, the local fire fighter’s union expressed concern about a proposed reduction of the daily staffing minimum for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

The 2026 budget proposal, which was first made public Thursday afternoon as the Journal-World reported, includes $6.4 million across the city’s departments as the city works to stabilize the budget. The city’s funding for LDCFM sees a $1.5 million cut, roughly 4% of the department’s budget.

As part of those cuts, the city would reduce the minimum daily staffing requirement for LDCFM from 39 people to 36 people, according to a city memo. Along with the reduction to minimum daily staffing, the cuts to the department would result in nine fewer positions.

Seamus Albritton, the President of the union that represents Lawrence firefighters, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1596, urged City Commissioners in a press release Monday to reject the proposal to reduce the fire department staff. Albritton said the proposal “reduces the level of safety of the citizens (of Lawrence),” and the cuts will likely mean one of the department’s fire engines would be placed off duty.

The city and Douglas County are responsible for funding LDCFM, with the city funding about 64% of LDCFM’s operations and the county covering about 36%. In June, LDCFM officials presented scenarios to the County Commissioners on how staffing could be impacted if the county did not provide more funding. If the county did not contribute about $183,000 in funds, LDCFM could cut up to 20 total full-time positions as opposed to the current cuts, as the Journal-World reported.

A presentation from the city notes that the 2026 budget proposal maintains four-person staffing on each fire truck, but one apparatus would be shut down to fully staff a different truck. Staffing levels were a point of contention during last year’s budget cycle, when the budget initially reduced staffing from four to three firefighters per truck before City Commissioners approved a budget that bumped the staffing levels back to four.

The budget also includes funds to construct a new fire station, known as “Station 6,” in its Capital Improvement Plan. As the Journal-World reported, the new station would be located in the northwestern portion of the city, and the city would allocate about $1.5 million for the project in 2026, then about $5.4 million and $5.7 million in 2027 and 2028, respectively. Multiple firefighters spoke during public comment during a June meeting in favor of including the project in the CIP.

While the budget includes the plans that can expand LDCFM’s future footprint, Albritton noted this budget proposal’s staffing decrease comes at a time when the department is receiving more calls. A presentation from a Jan. 2025 City Commission meeting noted that in 2020, LDCFM had a total of 12,659 incidents. In 2023, that was up to 16,854. Albritton said that increase indicates the proposal to cut funding asks the City Commission to “take a step backward when the evidence has clearly indicated to take the opposite action.”

The Journal-World asked the city for response on concerns about the proposed cuts. The City of Lawrence sent this statement:

“The recommended budget reflects what we heard from our community through the Balancing Act tool, especially around where service level reductions could be accepted. We’re grateful for that input and look forward to continued conversations with the community about our shared priorities in the weeks ahead. As those conversations continue, we welcome ideas about what alternative reductions could be considered — especially if there’s concern about proposed changes to specific services like fire and medical services. You can email your ideas to budgetideas@lawrenceks.org. We all play a part in responsibly balancing the budget, and your input helps guide those tough decisions.”

The City Commission will meet at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth Street.