The City Council majority voted at its June 3 meeting to staff Fire Engine 1, but the panel was divided over where to find the funding.
The 4-3 vote to cut the road repair fund — instead of cutting unoccupied positions at Chico Police Department or elsewhere in the budget — elicited sighs from some members of the audience. The road repair fund comes from Measure H sales tax revenue.
“I’m not going to lose sleep if we delay some road projects,” said Councilmember Mike O’Brien. “If we lose a neighborhood because our fire department is not adequately staffed, I will lose sleep over that.”
O’Brien, a former Chico police chief, made the passing motion, which defers road improvement projects to fund the engine staffing. His motion was supported by Mayor Kasey Reynolds, Vice Mayor Dale Bennett and Councilmember Tom van Overbeek after an alternative motion from other councilmembers failed.