There is a conflict over the proposed fiscal 2020 budget: The fire chief proposes a budget with one additional staff member while the town administrator has disagreed with the choice.
Chief Brian Legendre, however, could draw support from the Finance Committee to break the deadlock. He told the committee last week that he has had the same staffing numbers since 1989 yet fire calls ambulance calls doubled in 2018 when compared to 1989.
Legendre further contended that the staffing issue is compounded, given that Westport fire staff operate from two fire stations and cover a large geographic radius.
The committee did not take an official stance and will conduct an analysis and a final recommendation at the annual Town Meeting in May, during which voters will have the final say.
Reached recently, King would not elaborate on why he proposed a smaller budget for the department.