The cuts, Crowley wrote in a
memo from July 2024, resulted from eliminating 58 positions, adjusting sworn salary accounts, and removing one-time expenses.
"There were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days," she said. She also emphasized the additional funds the department was set to receive from the city's contract with the union.
Crowley said that in response to the $17.6 million cut, the department reduced non-essential responsibilities, but added that the reductions did limit their response to the fires "to a certain factor."
The fire department overspent by an estimated $66.6 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year, this year's budget shows, with unbudgeted contracts, unused sick time and overtime accounting for much of the overspending.