City Council has deep discussion of JFRD budget proposal

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department would get a $34.7 million budget boost starting Oct. 1, if Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry gets his proposed spending plan approved by the city council.

The council got into the finer details of that plan Thursday morning, where JFRD said the budget boost would help improve its response capabilities.

JFRD Chief Keith Powers told council members because of investments made in the department in recent years, JFRD has already reduced response times by 3.3 percent, adding this funding boost would be a continuation of that investment.

The mayor’s plan would spend $2.3 million to add 94 employees, mostly to staff two fire stations expected to come online next year.

There’s also a $1.3 million increase to keep up with inflation and high fuel costs.

Powers said one of the highlights of the budget proposal is the creation of a new critical paramedic unit, which will bolster the level of medical aid first responders can render on-scene.

The unit will have blood and plasma on hand, plus a wider array of medications.

Powers said there’s no doubt the new unit will save lives that otherwise would be lost.

“I can think of a couple of instances just here recently where it would have saved a life had we had that capability. But again, because the mayor and the city council have approved this in last year’s budget, or the current budget that we’re in, they approved the equipment and the training that we needed, and then on Oct. 1 we’ll put the units in service,” said Powers.

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