Austin City Manager Marc Ott presented the city council with a final list of budget cuts totaling $20.1 million Thursday.
As such, the Austin Fire Department has announced Thursday it will cut $200,000 from its budget. The cuts will reduce overtime hours for staff.
Starting mid-March, the Austin Fire Department will implement flexible staffing policies in order to cut that money from the budget.
According to Austin Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr, flexible staffing will reduce the number of firefighters on some fire trucks.
Currently, the Austin Fire Department has a policy of four firefighters per truck. Flexible staffing could bring that number down to three on some trucks.
Kerr said the reduction would affect the department’s overall efficiency but she also said the citizens of Austin should not see a difference in response time or service.
"I think it was the one that I felt had the least impact and the least harm to the community and the firefighters," she said.
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Austin Fire Department Cuts
News 8’s Reagan Hackleman speaks to involved parties about what the fire department budget cuts will entail.
 
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Right now, most of Austin's fire trucks are manned by four firefighters. If someone is sick or on vacation AFD will pay someone overtime to be the fourth, but that will not happen anymore.
State law requires, with some exceptions, that when firefighters arrive on scene, two go inside and two stay with the truck. If a truck is staffed with only three firefighters, those firefighters must wait for another truck to arrive.
Council Member Mike Martinez, a former Austin firefighter, questioned the ability of the city manager to make the cut to the fire department's budget because of a council resolution passed in 2007. That resolution passed with a 7-0 vote and directs the city to achieve four-person staffing at each of its fire stations.
"We need to be surgical and we don't need to take a shotgun approach," Martinez said.
Martinez said he will work with the fire chief to find other ways to cut the budget other than staffing levels.
"I don't believe this is the only area the fire department could create savings and efficiencies. I think it is the easiest thing to do," he said.
Kerr said she is committed to achieving four-person staffing once the economy and her budget allows.
"This is an interim plan and we will go back to our four-person staffing as soon as possible," she said.
Kerr said flexible staffing will start mid-March. How long it will last depends on the economy.
In all, Thursday's budget cuts equal just more than $20 million dollars.
