HomeMy WebLinkAboutFire Departmental Budget PresentationCity of Virginia Beach
Proposed FY 2026-27
Fire Department
Ken Pravetz, Fire Chief
April 14, 2026
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Trends & Issues – Service Delivery, Infrastructure, & People
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•Firefighting poses long-term health risks such as cancer; to combat these risks VBFD
utilizes Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and associated equipment daily.
•Enhanced health screenings and modernized data systems are being implemented to
better monitor risks and improve long-term firefighter wellness.
Firefighter
Health
•Staffing shortages have caused significant overtime costs and excessive personnel work hours. The
VBFD obtained 60 additional Firefighter positions over the past two fiscal years.
•Numbers of applicants that complete the selection process continue to trend in the wrong
direction impacting the hiring pool.
•The recruits added from the March 2025 academy has led to a 55% decrease in mandatory
callbacks to achieve minimum staffing requirements.
•17 Firefighter recruits will graduate in April 2026.
Staffing
Challenges
•Fire apparatuses such as engines, ladders, and rescue trucks are experiencing cost
increases up to 50%.
•Timelines to purchase new Fire Apparatuses have also increased. From the time an
order is placed, it can take from 36-48 months to receive. Previously, orders would
take 12-18 months.
Supply Chain &
Increased Costs
Major Budget Changes
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•3.10 FTEs were reallocated from the Grant Fund to the General Fund to
better align with how the Virginia Department of Emergency Management
disperses reimbursements.
Positions moved
from Grant Fund
to the General
Fund (Net $0)
•The department’s overtime budget was increased related to the pay
increases approved in July 2025 for public safety employees.
•As hourly wages increased an average of 11%, additional overtime funds
were necessary to ensure the department has sufficient budgeted
resources.
Increased
Overtime -
$912,280
Major Budget Changes – Capital Improvement Program
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Fire Apparatus IV- $9.4 million
•Vehicles are in one of two main categories depending on age and condition: Frontline and Reserve
•Standards dictate that they must have at least 26 Frontline Fire Engines to maintain operations.
•Seven Fire Engines were put into service in 2019 and will age into Reserve use in 2029.
•Investing in additional apparatus now ensures that sufficient vehicles will be produced and delivered
by 2029
Self Contained Breathing Apparatus – $10 million
•SCBA units are necessary for firefighters to enter hazardous environments
without inhaling smoke or other dangerous substances.
•VBFD maintains 212 SCBA units for daily operations and an additional 136
for training and redundancy. All 348 units reach the end of their serviceable
life in 2028.
Staffing Request – 48 Hour Work Schedules
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•Additional funding request to keep pace with the changes across the
industry to the firefighter work schedule
•Request includes:
•60 firefighter recruits in FY 2027
•39 FTEs in October 2026 to graduate in March 2027
•21 FTEs in April 2027 to graduate in September 2027
•FY 27 Cost of $3.8 million
•The additional staff would allow to decrease the number of 24-hour shifts
firefighters are scheduled to work from 7 shifts in a 21-day work period to
6, decreasing the average hours worked per week from 56 to 48 by October
2027
Questions?
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