The Berkeley Fire Fighters Association this week announced that they have reached an agreement with the Berkeley City Council to preserve some jobs that had been on the chopping block, but the future of a fire station may depend on a November ballot measure.
In order to address a nearly $30 million deficit with this year’s budget changes, the City Council had proposed the permanent closure of North Berkeley’s Fire Station 4 on Marin Avenue and elimination of 11 fire department positions.
The firefighters’ union said Wednesday that a compromise had been reached to preserve nine of the jobs on the line, including a fire inspector, so only two would be eliminated. The union has agreed to actively support a proposed sales tax ballot measure approved by the City Council earlier this month in exchange for the nine preserved fire department positions.
The ballot measure proposes increasing Berkeley’s sales tax rate by 0.5%, to a total of 10.75%, and is projected to generate more than $9 million annually. Some of those funds would be used to fund the Fire Department.
“These were difficult conversations, but both sides approached them with the same goal: doing what’s best for Berkeley,” said Amory Langmo, President of the Berkeley Fire Fighters Association. “While we would have preferred to preserve every position, we recognize the serious budget challenges facing the city.”
But there are other issues that still need tackling.
According to a City Council document on performance measures and plans, even with the station open, Fire Department response times didn’t reach city standards in 2025.
“Closure of Fire Station 4 will force responses from more distant stations, further degrading performance,” the document said.
If the measure fails, Station 4’s closure will be reconsidered next year, according to the council.
