Villa Hills City Council discussed a tentative version of their fiscal year 2025 budget Wednesday evening at their quarterly special meeting, which includes provisions to hire full-time firefighters and medics at the Crescent Springs/Villa Hills Fire Department.
The two cities operate a joint fire department that serves both jurisdictions, but only part-timers and volunteers currently staff the agency.
According to Villa Hills City Administrator Craig Bohman, the new fire department structure would include four full-time medics – enough to fully staff an ambulance at all times – and four full-time firefighters – enough to fully staff a fire engine at all times. This crew would be supplemented by volunteers and part-timers, he said.
The fire department has struggled to retain volunteers and part-time employees in recent years, Bohman said.
Both city councils must approve a resolution expressing support for introducing full-time staff members. Allotting a budget for the fire department’s future structure demonstrates Villa Hills’ commitment to the plan, which is expected to be formally voted on in a subsequent meeting.
“We’ll definitely vote to approve it as part of the budget, but there would be a resolution stating that we are in support of adding full-time staff to the fire authority,” Bohman said.
Funding for the fire authority is split between the two cities, with Villa Hills covering 60% of the costs and Crescent Springs covering the remaining 40%, Bohman said.
