Already stretched thin, Tacoma firefighters warn city that budget cuts could cost lives

The City of Tacoma is finalizing its budget, but firefighters claim they are paying the price for the city’s $24 million deficit as they’re set to lose a critical program they lean on to help their already dire staffing crisis.

The city appears ready to cut the Tacoma Fire Department’s (TPD) rover program, which helps fill in the gaps when firefighters are out sick or injured. Eliminating the program would remove 16 positions within the department.

The city argues that these positions were always meant to be temporary, but IAFF Local 31 Union president Allyson Hinzman said that is misleading.

“They were set up to be temporary in hopes that this city council would be able to set up the fire department for success. We have been underfunded now for the last several decades … we are at a critical breaking point,” Hinzman told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

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Hinzman also said that, as the city continues to grow, TPD has been left behind.

“We have the same number of engines as we did in 1955 … so we need personnel. We need apparatus. Our facilities that we’re still running out are over 100 years old,” Hinzman said.

A department running on fumes

Hinzman also noted that the department’s 450 staff members are about 60 short of where they need to be. As a result, they have to fill in the gaps through mandatory overtime.

“We have some of our people working over 100 hours a week,” Hinzman said. “Doing the work we do, that’s unacceptable, and that’s why you’re seeing the increase in leave and the increase in on-the-job injuries as well.”

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The city’s retort is that they have increased the fire department’s budget by $13 million. Hinzman claimed that is pure spin though.

“That has not been to our operating budget … We increased $13 million and a lot of that went to pay for city services,” he said. “So that $13 million didn’t come to the fire department to help cover operational costs, such as personnel, facilities and rigs.”

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