New facilities upgrades at the Williamsport Bureau of Fire headquarters on Walnut Street, a retiring fire chief, and a budget estimated to be less than 2% more in 2026 were some of the highlights provided by Williamsport Bureau of Fire Deputy Chief of Operations Kenneth Smith to City Council during the budget work session.

The department’s budget for next year is up 1.64%, or $129,352, Smith said.

In terms of salaries, they were decided as part of the contract negotiation that was recently submitted. The department anticipates an increase in revenue from the Borough of South Williamsport and Fire Department agreement.

There is an increase in the minimum municipal obligation for the pensions of non-uniform and uniform personnel. About $97,500 will encompass the overtime expense for overtime contracted in the agreement with South Williamsport. Health insurance premiums are $286,000.

Supplies and materials were decreased by $20,000, but the department will use a municipal state grant to fill that void.

“We decreased our funding in the training budget by $5,000,” he said.

The City Hall allocation is $28,000. Facility maintenance also decreased by $10,000.

“We were able to save money on facility maintenance and there may be more down the road,” Smith said.

“We’ve been able to upgrade a lot of the fire headquarters,” he said.

The deputy chief of operations pointed out how the city department of community economic development staff afforded it the grant opportunities used to upgrade the facility over the last two years.

“If you drive by right now, you’re gonna see the whole front yard torn up,” he said. “You’ve got some pretty neat things going on at fire headquarters.”

Council President Adam Yoder asked Smith for a walkthrough on the salary detail progression.

“I know we are maintaining the complement that is there,” Yoder said. “Can you just sort of walk us through the highlights of what is changing where?”

Yoder said he asked the question to tie in to Public Financial Management’s (PFM) multi-year bridge budget recommendations. PFM is the Philadelphia-based financial consultant working with the city on its strategic management plan. The program cost is $124,000 with 90% of it paid for by a grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development and 10% by the city.

“Well, right now . . . we are not sure who the next chief is going to be,” Smith said. “Chief Sam (Aungst) is leaving in January, so we will have a replacement appointed within a few weeks.”

The department is at 38 employees currently including the chief’s replacement. The individual will be sent to the academy and, once Aungst leaves, the department will not hire until the end of next year for the replacement, Smith said. John McCann, fire engineer, is scheduled to leave in early-2027.

“Before then, we will hire the replacement so we don’t have a shortfall in manpower as we progress through,” Smith said. The plan is to have a chief, and a deputy chief, with the certainty of the assistant chief of training remaining unclear at this time.

“Our current assistant chief would like to go back to the ranks so it may fall within the collective bargaining unit,” Smith said. “But it is still a position that would be giving training to our people.”