CFD Comm. Annette Nance-Holt takes questions from Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) during a budget hearing on Nov. 6, 2025. [Livestream]

Alderpeople asked the head of the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) about cost-saving suggestions from a city-commissioned budget study and about aldermanic notification during emergencies at a budget hearing Thursday.

CFD Comm. Annette Nance-Holt said in opening statements the proposed fire budget “will meet the challenge of maintaining operational excellence in a constrained fiscal environment … It funds critical positions, prioritizes safety equipment and sustains training programs that directly impact firefighter readiness and public safety outcomes.” 

CFD’s budget next year is set to increase from $753.6 million to $796.9 million, a more than $43.3 million or 5.7 percent hike. The fire department’s budget is mostly sourced from the Corporate Fund, and next year corporate funding will make up 89.1 percent of CFD’s budget, amounting to more than $710.2 million.  

The fire department is also proposed to drop four full-time positions next year, a decrease from 5,145 to 5,141. 

Although CFD had $74 million available from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in its budget this year, that ARPA money has been spent or allocated, reducing the ARPA portion of the CFD budget to zero. 

Other federal grant funding will also be less, with CFD’s non-pandemic federal grant budget poised to drop from $36 million to $23 million next year. The biggest change is a decrease in the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant the city receives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. CFD had nearly $31.3 million in UASI grant funds available this year but is set to receive just $1.4 million next year and carry over another $20.2 million. 

At the same time, state grant funds are expected to increase from $9.97 million this year to an anticipated $16.2 million in 2026. The funding consists of a $5.5 million Fire Academy Training and Improvement grant and $5 million capital construction grant from the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal. CFD will also carry over $5.7 million in grant funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services to help the city operate a mental health and wellness program for first responders. 

Nance-Holt told Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) CFD’s $5.7 million portion of the wellness grant is being carried over because it was distributed to the city in May 2025, too close to the end of the state’s 2025 fiscal year to be wholly spent. CFD was able to spend $400,000 of it before the state fiscal year ended, and the state carried it over into its 2026 fiscal year, which commenced July 1. CFD has $5.3 million left to spend.   

The CFD budget also receives funding from the city’s two airport enterprise funds, with both of those portions set to rise slightly next year. The Chicago Midway Airport Fund portion of the budget will rise from $8.92 million to $10 million, and the Chicago O'Hare Airport Fund portion will rise from about $32.4 million to $37.4 million.  

Over the next several years, Nance-Holt said the city is planning to purchase 300 new vehicles for CFD, representing a $200 million investment. 

The city is also planning to borrow to cover backpay for members of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 dating back to 2021 following last month’s City Council approval of a new collective bargaining agreement. The city would finance the payments, which will cover retroactive pay bumps dating back four years, over a three-year term, according to budget officials.  

Lopez also praised the work of the department over the past few years but asked for better communication with aldermanic offices when significant fire emergencies arise in their wards. 

“I do think that there is value to members of this body knowing when there's a significant event or something that displaces people,” Lopez said.  

Nance-Holt said CFD already tries to do that but admitted it sometimes falls short. Still, she said notification occurs for most significant fires, such as when there’s been fatalities. While CFD is unlikely to notify alderpeople of everything, such as smaller-scale incidents, “we will see if we can do better.”  

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) asked the fire commissioner about cost-saving recommendations included in a budget report put together by consulting firm Ernst and Young. 

Some of those include minimum manning reductions for crews on engines and trucks; billing people for instances when they are treated on-site and not transported by ambulance; new fees on false fire alarms, fire alarm inspections, hazmat material responses and high-rise fire inspections; increases to the pyrotechnics fee and sprinkler plan review fee; and the diversion of some 911 calls to telehealth to reduce ambulance dispatches.  

Waguespack said while he viewed some, such as the minimum manning reductions, as non-viable, he referred to others as “low-hanging fruit.”  

Nance-Holt said CFD was able to speak with E&Y and agreed with many of the recommendations, including what she described as long overdue fee hikes. But she said some of the suggestions, such as 911 call diversion, may not be implementable quickly, either requiring ordinance changes or state authorization.  

“Some of these sound really good, but it's going to take some time to get them done,” she said.  

Nance-Holt also said the city may also want to consider the negative impacts of imposing new charges on people for emergency services, rhetorically asking “are we impacting people who have nothing at all when we try to help them?” 

She urged the council to come together to determine how to implement “common sense” policies that “people can afford” so that “we're not running people out of here either.”