New fire station talks continue as budget discussions focus on public safety

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Public safety funding for fiscal year 2026 took center stage at City Hall on Thursday evening as budget planning shifted to St. Joseph's police, fire and health departments for day three of discussions.

Councilmembers and city leaders returned from a one-day break Thursday for the third of four planned budget work sessions, which are set to conclude on Tuesday.

As mentioned previously, overall Public Safety funding will experience a recorded budget decrease of roughly $16.6 million for FY26 as the result of planned budget policy changes such as the elimination of fund transfers, particularly for the Public Safety and the Police Tax funds.

This change resulted in marked decreases in budgeted revenues and expenditures by fund to align with this new policy. Ultimately, the budgeted amounts by function are consistent with prior years.

• St. Joseph Fire Department: $19.4 million budgeted ($27% decrease)
• St. Joseph Police Department: $25.1 million budgeted (26% decrease)

Early this week, City Manager Mike Schumacher voice his desire to see increased funding for additional fire department training in fiscal year 2026. The department recorded an all-time high in training hours in 2025 as it successfully filled open positions.

Additional funding could be used for courses like confined space training, a vital component used to equip firefighters with the knowledge and skills to safely enter and rescue individuals from confined spaces.

"It's been 23 years since I've had that kind of training. And I want to bring that back and take some pride in our tech rescue," Interim Fire Chief Jamie McVicker said.

The department will also see an increase of $100,000 in funding for machinery and other equipment, along with delivery of a previously-purchased ladder truck.

A key topic of discussion centered around construction of a new $4.7 million southside fire station, which is budgeted for next fiscal year. The department recently reached an agreement with the architect firm SEH to begin conceptual work on the new Fire Station 10 on the south side at three identified locations.

A follow-up work session will be held next Monday, May 12, from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. to identify a final location for the fire station, which is funded by the Capital Improvement Program sales tax.

Fire Department planned initiatives:

• Present a fleet replacement proposal to plan for the spread of financial burden while continuing to replace the aging fleet.
• Serve on a federal task force to identify best practice for FD response to homelessness.
• Begin to create specifications for a new ladder truck to serve the west side as part of the CIP plan (3-year build-time).
• Pursue a partnership with MWSU or NCMC in the creation of a fire academy for local recruitment.

As the meeting shifted to the St. Joseph police budget, Chief Paul Luster noted the department has 17 open positions at this time, but 11 of those individuals are currently going through the hiring process now, including at the police academy. 

New software purchases, fleet enhancements and additional resources for a new crime analyst position created last year are three areas in 2026 that Luster pointed to as priorities. 

"Making sure that that that person has the right tools to do their job. Our hope is that position makes us more efficient. We'll be able to to track criminal patterns, hotspots, if you will, in the city and deploy our resources more efficiently," Luster said. "There's a lot of robust software out there that that helps you do that. So very excited about that."

Police Department planned initiatives

• Initiated a large-scale project to procure body-worn cameras and to replace vehicle and interview room cameras.
• Continue to move forward with our mission to become accredited with the Missouri Police Chief’s Association.
• Remain focused on plans to replace the aging fleet and provide members with the most functional patrol vehicles.

Along with police and fire, a $4.7 million budget for the St. Joseph Health Department -- a projected 9.5% decrease from last year -- was also up for further discussion, including achievements and funding talks for general health services and animal control.

Animal Control, which now goes by Animal Services, implemented widespread technology and platform upgrades this past year, including Pet Hub high-tech digital licensing tags, an online licensing platform for pets to increase accessibility and a progressive field services program offering free microchips in the field and increasing efforts to reunite dogs with their owners in the field. 

Upgrades will continue in fiscal year 2026, including a transition to a new software platform to increase the quality of records and to reduce waste and improve operations.

Budget discussions will wrap up on Tuesday with the meeting centered exclusively on St. Joseph's Public Works and Transportation Department, the largest of the city's funded departments for fiscal year 2026. 

A finalized budget is expected to go before City Council for first reading on May 27 followed by a final vote on June 9.