Staffing and equipment concerns at the city’s police and fire departments dominated discussion at Tuesday night’s council forum meeting, with police arguing for expanding their complement of officers and council member Kathy Kline saying she wants to revive a part-time program at the fire department.

Kline said she intends to present council next month with a plan to add four part-time firefighters to the 17-person department, saying she believes adding the part timers would help alleviate overtime costs.

Kline said she wants to use money budgeted for the fire chief’s annual salary — $70,000, according to an online copy of the city’s 2017 budget — to pay for the additional manpower.

“We have to do something, because our overtime is going to be worse than it was last year,” she said.

Mayor Tom Donaldson agreed on that point, saying that the department has already used nearly 50 percent of its total overtime budget of $37,066 for the year.

Donaldson said that’s ahead of the rate at which the Butler police are spending money on overtime for officers, but he expects both departments to exceed their overtime budgets by the end of 2017.

While debate over fire department staffing swirls around whether or not the city should eliminate the chief position entirely and focus on adding part-time manpower to shifts, police officials are trying to convince council to beef up a department that in February was reduced to 18 officers with the firing of Sgt. William Mayhugh.

Council members voted on Feb. 23 to fire Mayhugh for misconduct, following a lengthy executive session. Mayhugh, who served as president of the department’s union, has challenged the decision.

On Tuesday, Police Chief Ron Brown and Assistant Chief Dave Adam both told council members that the department, which is in the process of hiring four new officers, needs at least 23 members to function efficiently.

“I know we are always straining our budget,” Adam said. “Unfortunately, that’s our life. Everybody is working at the maximum with the minimum amount.”

Council members voted last month to allow the department to hire up to a total of 24 officers, but later pulled back on its approval amid cost concerns.

Councilman Kenny Bonus and Brown said Tuesday that a cost analysis of the proposed 24-officer department had found that the city’s 2017 budget could handle the additional $39,000 starting salary for an officer. But council member Mike Walter said he worries about the long-range financial ramifications of additional hiring — a question Bonus acknowledged was a “valid concern.”

“My concern is, is it sustainable?” Walter said of adding a 24th officer to the department.

For Brown and Adam, who noted that the department also needs to replace some aging vehicles, an additional officer is more important than equipment updates. Brown pointed to a tumultuous start to April, which has seen two officers suffered on-the-job injuries, as evidence of the department’s need.

“If the last month hasn’t (shown) enough need for officers, you’re never gonna get it,” he said.

But it’s unforeseen expenses — like needed repairs to the fire department’s ladder truck that could total anywhere from $30,000 to $65,000 — that have Walter worried, he said.

Kline reported on Tuesday that the city’s ladder truck failed a mandatory non-destructive test last month due to portions of its ladder being twisted. The truck, which is 19 years old and nearing the end of its projected life span, must be sent away for repairs before it can be put to full use by the department.

Kline said the city was still in the process of determining how much repair work needed to be done to get the truck back in service, but noted that the work could take between four and six weeks, depending on the amount of ladder that needs to be replaced.

Walter said the city is already seeking a federal grant to help defray the cost of purchasing a new ladder truck, but that process is a lengthy one, and even if the city wins grant money it could take up to two years to receive the funds.

Meanwhile, Kline said, the city will rely upon fire departments in Meridian and at VA Butler Healthcare to support the city’s department, if the need for a ladder truck arises. She said the lack of a working ladder truck at the city department wasn’t a safety concern going forward.

“We’re fine, as safety goes,” Kline said.