Austin Fire, EMS and other departments brace for cuts after Prop Q failure

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin firefighters on Monday morning filled a Domain movie theater to watch a short film documenting the Austin Firefighters Association’s push to keep four firefighters on every truck.

In July, the union raised concerns after city financial staff recommended eliminating a 2018 ordinance requiring the four-person staffing minimum due to budget constraints. After Proposition Q was introduced, the city included enough funding in the budget to keep the staffing ordinance on the books. 

“Council really stood with us when the fire chief and the manager tried to reverse our four-person staffing ordinance,” said Association President Bob Nicks. “But the [city] manager again has put it into the budget now that Prop Q has failed,” he said.

Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker told city council over the summer that he thought the move was necessary to avoid browning or blacking out – temporarily not staffing a station or closing one altogether.

“The staffing model is the best solution that we have at the table right now to make sure that every fire station, every unit is still staffed with trained firefighters and personnel to respond to these emergency fire and medical calls,” Baker said at a July budget meeting.

Nicks said having four fighters on a truck during emergencies is imperative for maintaining public safety. 

“We definitely want to fill those seats every day because without those seats being filled, we can’t provide the service that we’re sworn to give,” he continued.

The Austin Firefighters Association is petitioning to codify the four-per-truck staffing rule. Nicks said they need 20,000 signatures to qualify for the May 2026 ballot.

Austin Fire isn’t the only department seeing significant changes under the amended budget recommendation. Austin Emergency Medical Services is facing a nearly $6.3 million cut, the Parks and Recreation Department about $5.2 million, and Austin Public Health also stands to lose $1 million in funding.

“[The cuts] are brutal, frankly. They negatively impact a lot of core programs and services, including very important budget amendments that I championed during the budget process, including enhancements to our EMS emergency response program,” District 7 Council Member Mike Siegel said. 

Under the previous budget, council members authorized funds for new EMS positions, new ambulances and a new program aimed at improving EMS response times, Siegel explained. 

“We need more coverage. And that's really hamstrung by these proposed cuts by the city manager,” Siegel explained. 

“I feel that the adopted budget by city council [in August] was a public safety budget. We protected police spending, fire spending, we restored overtime, we enhanced EMS,” Siegel continued. “That was really on the ballot in November. I'm not sure voters appreciated that."

In a statement, Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, who represents District 2, said she would focus on protecting the services that keep Austinites safe in the upcoming budget adoption process.

"Our first responders run toward danger to keep the rest of us safe -- the least we can do is make sure they’re equipped to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible," she said.

Austin EMS Association response

“It’s a serious morale hit,” said James Monks, president of the Austin EMS Association. “We supported [the proposition] because it included multiple resources and funding for our department,” he said.

Monks said the added funding would have helped Austin-Travis County EMS keep up with the city’s rapid growth by adding dozens of sworn EMS positions.

“That funding was needed for resources that we have needed for a while,” Monks continued. “I think we’re just at a breaking point at this point. Something needs to change.”