City officials are considering spending an estimated $40,000 to $70,000 for a comprehensive study on the city's fire services. The decision to request proposals and cost estimates from independent consultants comes on the heels of a study recently completed by the Sheboygan firefighters union, which concluded staffing reductions at city fire departments have left areas of the city without satisfactory fire protection. Alderman John Belanger, who first recommended the city seek an independent analysis of the city's fire operations, said the commissioned study would be broader in scope than the study by the firefighters union. “It would be comprehensive and be a road map, in my opinion, for the next five to ten years as to what we need to do to move forward,” Belanger said. “It would remove the politics of it both from the union side, the management side, and the council side. I think it’s best to get an independent third party consultant to look at it and provide us with a professional study.”