FILE: Trucks at the ready at Portland Fire & Rescue, Station 1, pictured in a 2023 photo.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Portland firefighters are raising the alarm on how potential budget cuts could impact their work.
In a letter sent to Portland Fire Bureau staff Thursday, Fire Chief Lauren Johnson explained that the bureau could be seeing up to $26 million in cuts this coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
In November, Mayor Keith Wilson told city bureaus to prepare for budget cuts, including a scenario with 10% cuts.
“It’s grossly irresponsible,” said Isaac McLennan, president of the Portland Fire Fighters’ Association, the union representing the front-line workers. “There’s no way these cuts could be made without risking public safety”
Johnson said the $26 million cut wouldn’t include any layoffs. But, according to McLennan’s estimations, it could lead to a 42-person reduction of the number of staff working a given day. That could translate to closing up to 10 of the city’s 31 fire stations.
“That means longer response times, fewer resources on scene, and greater danger for Portlanders experiencing fires, medical emergencies, or large-scale incidents,” he said.
Related: Portland faces a budget shortfall of at least $67 million next year
Portland Fire & Rescue has struggled with slow response times for years. The national fire standard for firefighter response times is just over five minutes. A 2025 report shows that Portland firefighters hit that mark only 42% of the time in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Johnson shared McLennan’s concern in her Thursday letter.
“These kinds of reductions are painfully heavy to consider and would have devastating impacts to front line services,” she wrote. “They would translate to an untenable and dangerous reduction in coverage.”
Along with staffing changes, Johnson said that the bureau would likely have to cut back on buying new fire engines and increase the cost of fire inspections the bureau regularly carries out on private properties.
McLennan has worked for Portland Fire & Rescue since 2013. He said he’s never seen the mayor’s office ask the bureau to consider slashing this much money.
In preparing for last year’s budget, then-Mayor Ted Wheeler didn’t ask the Fire Bureau to reduce their funding for fiscal year 2025-2026 at all — saying he wanted to “hold harmless” public safety from citywide cuts.
This year is different.
According to the city’s revenue department, Portland is up against a budget shortfall of $67 million in the upcoming fiscal year. That’s due to a reduction in anticipated business and property tax revenue.
Related: Portland’s top administrator orders hiring freeze due to budget gap
In November, Willson asked every bureau to deliver three possible proposed budgets: one that maintains current funding levels, one that reflects a 3% reduction, and another with a 10% cut.
“I understand this guidance is different from prior Mayor’s guidance, but I think it is necessary to change the process to facilitate a more open and transparent conversation around the budget in our city,” Wilson wrote in his request.
McLennan said it was “dangerous” and “insulting” for the mayor to suggest making cuts of that size to the bureau, knowing that it would equate to shuttered fire stations.
He and other city labor leaders have urged the city to look at larger structural changes citywide, like reducing management positions, to address the city’s financial crisis.
Protecting public safety bureaus from big budget cuts has become more of a trend in the past five years, after the city’s coffers were buoyed by a federal pandemic relief money. But as those one-time funds have dried up — and taxes continue to dip — no department is safe from cuts.
Aaron Schmautz, president of Portland’s rank-and-file police union, has yet to see his bureau’s draft budget proposals. But he’s also expecting cuts. The bureau saw some promised funding clawed back by city council during last year’s budget cycle.
According to Schmautz, there’s just “no fat left to cut” at the Police Bureau.
Wilson’s office is scheduled to release the first draft of a citywide budget in April.
