The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District is focused on saving money for future upgrades in next fiscal year’s proposed budget.
Along with a new fire engine, nozzles and other apparatus, the fire district may add a recruitment officer to improve volunteer retention and add more paid, part-time firefighter positions.
This is Fire Chief Matt Benedict’s first budget cycle to oversee, and he said his goal is to help “standardize and streamline” the budgeting process for the district to clarify why each item is needed to the public.
“We’re setting this budget up for the future,” Benedict said. “We are saving money for when our apparatus need to be replaced to be fiscally responsible.” Recruiting and keeping qualified volunteer firefighters is a task that is becoming increasingly more challenging not only for Cannon Beach, but for volunteer departments around the country, Benedict said. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the number of volunteers decreased 12 percent from 1985 to 2015.