The preliminary budget, which was unanimously approved Aug. 25, did not provide for raises or the hiring new personnel in FY 2023. However, changes may be made before the final budget is approved later this month, officials said.
Also included in plans for FY 2023 was $45.5 million in capital expenses, including land purchases for future stations in Towne Lake, Dunham Pointe and Bridgeland. Staffing concerns
Christopher Fillmore, the president of the local 5248 Cy-Fair Professional Firefighters Association, said he is concerned about how the proposed budget would impact the department’s employees and ability to continue to grow with the community.
“We’re not able to staff consistently every day, with four or more on an apparatus is typically what we try to shoot for,” Fillmore said. “But there are some days where we have to drop down to three, so with the increase in staffing that [would] allow us to better have four on there, continuing to be competitive.”
Concerns around burnout and retention of employees also plague the department as Fire Chief Amy Ramon looks at how a flat headcount could impact staff members. The department had 191 staff members for fire suppression, 135 volunteers and 138 EMS personnel as of August.
“As the number of volunteers are decreasing, currently what has to happen is the full-time or part-timer staff have to pick up those shifts when they’re not filled,” Ramon said. “If a part-time person doesn’t come in, a full-time [person] or volunteer has to pick up those shifts. So we need to increase our staffing to make sure that we don’t end up burning out all of our amazing people we have because there’s too many shifts for the number of people we have currently.”
Ramon and Fillmore share concerns over burnout. Taking over someone’s shift means an extra 24 hours on the job and away from home.
“I can continue to do exactly like we’re doing—that’s not a problem. What’s going to happen is somebody’s going to end up working four days a week, four 24-hour shifts. That’s going to get old at some point, and they’re going to stop working the overtime shifts, and then your trucks are going to have to be put out of service because we don’t have the personnel, and I don’t want it to get to that place. I want to be proactive,” Ramon said.
Seeking solutions
Ramon and Fillmore both said they are hoping to see pay raises and staff increases included in the final budget. A closed workshop on the budget will be held on Sept. 15 to allow commissioners and administration to discuss their needs for the next year and ensure the department staff is taken care of and happy to work with ESD 9.
“The reason that we’re here is the community, but the only way that the community gets taken care of is if the people who work here get taken care of,” Ramon said. “Because if they feel like they’re second class or if they’re not getting taken care of, then that attitude is going to be taken out on the citizens, and I don’t want that.”
The proposed budget is set to maintain revenue and minimize costs as the newly elected commissioners continue to perform audits and compile information for the creation of a master plan. According to Ramon, the department has had a plan that was orchestrated by previous commissioners and involved plotting the area’s growth and strategically placing fire stations throughout Cy-Fair to ensure fast response times despite a large coverage area.
“We’ve done a lot of growing over the past couple of years. There’s been a lot of transition happening in the transition to hiring full-time [personnel], so with that there’s been a lot of growth, more positions that need to be addressed,” Fillmore said. “Bringing on more personnel is what’s been required with all that, and we just hope to continue seeing that growth continue on to ensure that all these days, all the stations, all 13 stations remain staffed, and our staff is where they need to be.”
