Public safety is one of our most important responsibilities as a city, and it is one I take seriously. But supporting public safety isn’t just about how much money we spend. It’s about making sure those dollars translate into strong service for our residents.
That is why I support the new staffing approach our Fire Department has developed. We are adding four positions, bringing our fifth fire engine back into service, and maintaining all three of our ambulances.
And we can accomplish all three within the personnel budget we already approved. That is a significant step forward for public safety in Folsom.
Our Fire Department has spent considerable time looking at how we deploy our firefighters, paramedics and EMTs and how we can make the best use of each of them.
The new approach is fairly straightforward. We are converting ten of our Firefighter/Paramedic positions into single role positions and adding four new single role positions alongside them, for a total of fourteen single role EMT and Paramedic positions, seven of each.
These single role positions are dedicated specifically to medical response and ambulance transport, which reflects where a large share of our call volume actually comes from. That shift allows more of our firefighter paramedics to be available for fire and other emergency response, while giving us more dedicated capacity where the demand in Folsom is greatest.
What matters most to me is what that means for residents. Five engines instead of four. Three ambulances remain in service. Four additional positions.More resources available to respond when our community needs them.
And there is another part of this that matters to me: we are doing it responsibly.
The new structure is expected to save the city more than $210,000, between ongoing annual salary and benefit savings and one time training and academy savings. No additional appropriation is required.
This is exactly where public safety and fiscal responsibility should meet. Being careful with taxpayer dollars should never mean simply looking for places to cut. It means asking whether we are getting the best possible result from the resources residents have entrusted to us.
Sometimes the answer is to invest more. Sometimes it is to refocus resources on our highest priorities. Sometimes it is to find a better way to deliver the service. What matters is the result.
For public safety, I want us continually looking at the things residents actually experience. Response times. Whether emergency resources are available when a call comes in. Whether we have the right personnel and equipment in the right places. And whether we can sustain that level of service financially.
That requires data. It also requires a willingness to adjust when the data tells us there is a better way.
I appreciate the men and women of our Fire Department for doing that work. They continued looking for ways to strengthen our service, and this new approach gives us the ability to add personnel and put another engine back into service while remaining fiscally responsible.
Anna Rohrbough is the City of Folsom’s Vice Mayor and represents District 5 on Folsom City Council and authored this commentary. She can be reached to discuss issues atannar@folsom.ca.us.
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