Jesse Gary
KTVU Fox 2 News
April 3, 2025
Nestled in San Jose’s Communications Hill neighborhood is shuttered fire station 33. First responders, Wednesday, used it as a backdrop to send city leaders a clear message.
“We’re here today to talk about service cuts and what this actually looks like in our city.”
Members of AFSME Local 21 joining union firefighters in pleading with San Jose city leadership to keep fire protection a priority, especially after the natural disasters that devastated Los Angeles.
“We’re here to tell you today that public safety is in jeopardy with closed fire stations. Public safety is in jeopardy when you don’t have enough firefighters and, time and time again, we continue to raise the red flag.”
Last month, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, said there needs to be a laser focus on efficiency to bridge a 32 million dollar budget gap.
“Rather than having Groundhog Day every year, we need to simply embrace reality.”
For Mahan, that reality is changing how Measure E funds, for care of the city’s roughly 6,300 unhoused residents, is doled out. That helps bridge part of the shortfall, but the rest will depend on what monies the city manager‘s office uses to avoid painful cuts in city services.
There is a hiring freeze in place and some worry layoffs could eventually be added to the mix. Firefighters say they are sounding an alarm that public safety could be compromised if future plans include reductions in their ranks.
“We need to focus on staffing our fire department and providing the growing need for public safety for our residents.”
“We have 0.6 firefighters for every 1,000 residents. By comparison, the City of San Francisco has nearly two firefighters for every 1,000 residents. Again, these staffing levels are an issue for us. In an email to KTVU Fox 2 News, Mahan says, “I will not support any cuts to our fire department’s current service level . . . We can close our small remaining deficit by getting creative, not cutting services that save lives.”
The City Manager’s office will put out a memo in May that will detail what can be spent and what choices will ultimately land in the Mayor’s lap.
