Jackson Fire Chief Says Staffing Shortage Behind Insurance Rating Downgrade
JACKSON - Jackson's fire chief told the City Council the department's insurance rating has slipped and asked for 25 new firefighters to begin reversing it.
At an Aug. 19 City Council budget workshop, Fire Chief Thomas presented the Jackson Fire Department's fiscal year 2027 budget request and told council members the city's fire insurance rating recently fell from a 3 to a 4 on the state's 1-to-10 scale. The chief tied the downgrade to a shortage of firefighters, referencing an earlier assessment of the department's staffing needs. "I stated then I needed 60 to 70 more firefighters," Chief Thomas said, describing findings from a recent evaluation by the state fire rating service.
To begin addressing the shortfall, the department is requesting funding for 25 additional firefighters at a cost of about $1.66 million. Council members indicated support for the hires but said they would need to identify funding within a tight general fund before moving forward.
The rating matters beyond the department itself: it factors directly into insurance premiums paid by homeowners and businesses across Jackson. The chief's presentation marks the administration's first concrete step toward addressing the downgrade, framing the request as a test of how the council balances public safety spending against other budget demands in a constrained fiscal year. No timeline for a funding decision was given at the workshop.