City, Sacramento Firefighters Weighing How To Fix $2 Million Deficit

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — City and fire officials in Sacramento have talked about it for years -- changing the way the city staffs the fire department to save money.

The city is projecting over a $2 million deficit that may put some fire jobs on the chopping block.

The Sacramento city fire chief wants to replace firefighter paramedics who perform both jobs with paramedics who are only tasked to go out on medical calls.

The Sacramento Area Firefighter's Union says the proposal would put the community in danger.

"It would be like cutting our arm off," says Roberto Padilla, a 20-year veteran firefighter and spokesman for Local 522.
Padilla got his start as a firefighter-paramedic 20 years ago.

Today, he can't imagine a fire house in Sacramento with an ambulance crew who can't respond to a fire.

"To have single role employee just standing there, that is dysfunctional way to function," says Padilla.

In 2015 the fire department had more than two-thousand fire calls, and about six-hundred were working structure fires.

"We are always looking to optimize our service and organizational efficiencies to help the budget", says Sacramento Fire Chief Walt White.

Chief White says 80-percent of the calls to the fire department are for medical emergencies, not fires, so there is potential to save personnel costs.

For a department with a limited budget, White says his decisions are influenced by the demands of the community.

That could mean slashing the dual firefighter-paramedics positions just to help keep the city out of financial trouble.

The reduction is just an idea right now – the city manager says it's too early to discuss because the fire department's current contract doesn't expire until 2018.