DANVILLE – Danville could have fewer fire stations in the future.
As of Wednesday, nothing was official but given the $1.4 million funding gap the city had to overcome in order to balance the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year it is now going to take a harder look at all of its options when it comes to potentially saving money in the future.
That includes consolidating some of the city's fire stations.
That process could begin with a study in the upcoming fiscal year.
In the near future, Danville's seven fire stations could be reduced to six by consolidating three of the stations into two.
"That really depends on whether we'd be able to maintain call volume with that level of personnel," Danville city manager Ken larking said.
Which three stations, when and how the consolidation would happen are all details that will be discussed in the future if the city decides to move forward with the study.
Early estimates suggest consolidation could save the city $300,000 a year.
"That's a very rough early estimate based on good information, but not refined information," Larking said.
Two new fire stations would be built.
Where or how much would be spent to build them hadn't been discussed as of Wednesday.
The 12 positions that would be lost as a result of consolidation would be absorbed by eliminating 12 positions that become vacant when a firefighter leaves or retires.
Fire Chief David Eagle said with all of this information just coming to light as a result of Tuesday night's council meeting, he is still trying to process it.
"Right now, it's just a thought and we need to research it," Eagle emphasized.
That's exactly what the city plans to do before making a decision about the study.
Larking said Wednesday that if a study were to be conducted, it would likely happen within the upcoming fiscal year.