Council Workshop on Fire Department Staffing Set for Thursday

City Council will hold a workshop meeting 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, to discuss a proposal to save money by changing the Ocean City Fire Department staffing model.

The public session is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. at the .

At a Nov. 29 City Council meeting, Councilman Keith Hartzell presented  that he suggests, over time, could save Ocean City taxpayers more than $400,000 annually. The basic premise of the proposal is to replace a select number of retiring firefighters with lower-paid emergency medical technicians.

Hartzell suggested the next step in the process should be a workshop with input from the mayor's administration and the Fire Department.

Fire Department representatives have questioned the feasibility of the proposal.