Saline Council Debates Fire Department Budget Amid Concerns Over Governance

Saline City Council approved a major budget increase for the fire department amid concerns over financial oversight and fire board dysfunction.

The Saline City Council reviewed and ultimately approved the Saline Area Fire Department’s (SAFD) 2025-2026 budget on March 17, but not without raising concerns over financial transparency and governance issues within the fire board. The budget request saw a dramatic increase from $2,166,664 in 2024-2025 to $2,896,111 for the upcoming fiscal year, with city leaders citing past underfunding as a primary reason for the jump.

“This year’s fire budget includes the largest funding increase in SAFD’s history,” said Interim City Manager Elle Cole. “The city’s portion is over a million dollars. With an increase of this magnitude, the city has the responsibility to ensure that these funds are allocated in the most strategic and impactful way.”

The City of Saline is one of four municipalities that contribute to SAFD, along with Lodi Township (30.69%), Saline Township (12.09%), and York Township (23.49%). The city’s share is determined largely by real and personal property values, with Saline’s portion slightly decreasing from 33.83% in fiscal year 2025 to 33.73% in fiscal year 2026. Despite the minor percentage change, the city’s financial commitment will rise from $762,376 to $1,044,318—an increase of $281,942. The city plans to levy a 1-mill Fire Special Assessment, generating approximately $611,163, with the remaining $433,155 coming from the General Fund.

However, several council members voiced frustration over what they see as dysfunction at the fire board level.

“For the last 10 years, the type of activity and requirements we expect in this city, in terms of accountability, recording meetings, making sure that meetings are held—those things are not happening,” said Councilmember Dean Girbach.

Mayor Pro Tem Janet Dillon, who previously served on the fire board, criticized its structure. “You have four very different municipalities working together. It’s an awkward structure,” she said. “For the last five years, I have requested that the board move to having monthly meetings. It has not been well received.”

Dillon continued, “The meetings are not recorded meetings. The minutes are very basic Robert’s Rules minutes. So there’s no way to kind of go back and sort of tell you, for you to go back and see on your own. And they’re very abbreviated meetings for the first five or six years I was on that committee, those meetings were less than 15 minutes.”

Council members also questioned the plan to add a fire marshal position when the current fire chief already holds that certification. “Last year the fire marshal position came up, and it was voted down,” Dillon noted. “Yet, this year, there was nothing that was brought back to the fire board that indicated why that position needed to come back.”

The discussion also highlighted a lack of clear documentation supporting the budget increase. “The budget that you see is the budget that was given,” Dillon said. “There are no year-to-date actuals, no backup documents. What you’re getting is what we get from the board.”

While concerns over accountability and financial oversight loomed large, some council members reluctantly supported the budget to ensure firefighter safety. “I fully support making sure that firefighters are safe and meeting all OSHA requirements,” said Councilmember Nicole Rice. “I will support this simply because I support the safety and wellness of our community, but with an asterisk of not being pleased.”

Dillon echoed the sentiment saying, “Just to clarify, any [no] vote does not mean that there is a lack of support for our firefighters. So, I just want to make that clear that this is not a firefighter issue. This is a budget issue. And to say that this city does not support its firefighters is false. And I will repeat that. It is false.”

Mayor Brian Marl emphasized the need for better governance and a long-term strategy. “The department and ultimately the community would benefit from the fire board having a codified strategic plan,” he said.

In the end, the budget was approved by a narrow 4-3 vote. But council members made it clear that they expect significant improvements in oversight and transparency before next year’s budget discussions.

More details of the SAFD budget can be found in the March 17 meeting packet on the city’s website.