Six months after Salem Fire took over the local ambulance service from private provider Falck, the department says rising call volumes are straining the new system — and it wants to hire more staff. The Salem City Council will consider it at their meeting on Monday, Jan. 26. What’s happeni ng: Fire Chief David Gerboth is asking city council to approve four additional full-time ambulance workers at tonight’s meeting. A staff report says ambulance demand is exceeding projections, pushing crews and units to their limits. By the numbers: $644,000: Estimated annual cost to hire four EMS workers, paid from the city’s EMS fund, not the general fund. $528,000: Overtime costs tied to staffing shortages, according to the report. Why it matters: Units are regularly operating at or above recommended capacity, leading to longer response times during peak hours. Staffing pressure is increasing overtime and raising the risk of service disruptions. What’s next: Gerboth says adding staff would improve reliability without putting more ambulances on the road. He will also brief councilors on the system’s finances and operations, which he says remain “operational and stable.” Costs for the new employees would be offset partially by billing hospital patients for service.  Background: Salem Fire took over ambulance service in July, ending decades of reliance on private providers. Overtime costs tied to Falck’s staffing failures were a key reason the city brought the service in-house. Get involved  How to watch Monday’s Salem City Council meeting When: 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26 Where: In person at Loucks Auditorium, Salem Public Library (585 Liberty St. S.E.) Watch online: Livestreamed on YouTube in English and Spanish Public comment options In person: Members of the public can sign up to comment on any item on the council agenda. Remote comment: Sign up on the city’s website between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday Written comment: Email [email protected] before 5 p.m. Monday, or drop off a paper comment at the City Recorder’s Office, Civic Center (555 Liberty St. S.E., Room 225) Also before the council:   Emergency sewer repair Proposal: Authorize $700,000 from the wastewater construction fund to repair an access road to the West Salem Sewage Pump Station. Why: A December 2024 storm damaged the road where it crosses Glenn Creek near Northwest Wallace Road and Northwest Brush College Road, threatening access needed for operations and maintenance. Funding source: Utility rate funds. Legal and workers’ compensation settlements $200,000 settlement (plus $4,120 in medical fees) with former Willamette Valley Communications Center employee Heidi Butler over claims related to her separation from the city.  $550,000 workers’ compensation settlement for Maurice Stadeli, a Salem firefighter who died of cancer in 2019.  Downtown safety and homelessness Update coming: Councilors will hear a briefing on the city’s Safe, Clean and Healthy Salem initiative. What it includes: Expanded city cleaning crews Growth of Salem Police’s Homelessness Services Team A new fire department–run crisis response model pairing EMS workers with a mental health specialist Paid parking downtown  Councilors will discuss the financial success of paid parking downtown. They will also consider repealing and refunding a parking tax paid by downtown businesses over the summer.  City collaboration with ODOT  Councilors will consider Mayor Julie Hoy’s proposal to direct better coordination with ODOT.  The coordination would focus on plans to ramp up regular cleaning of homeless camps and ODOT crews in Salem. Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected]. LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. Fair, accurate, trusted – SUBSCRIBE The post Council considers adding four ambulance workers to fire department  appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less