The Board of Public Safety members balked at the idea of level-funding the Torrington Fire Department budget after Chief Gary Brunoli said a firefighter would have to be laid off to reach the mark. His solution was to lower funding provided to volunteer fire departments.
Brunoli presented cuts to his original proposal Wednesday, saying he had eliminated $665,673 in proposed expenses to bring the budget into line with the current year. According to the 2017-18 city budget, the department received an allocation of $5.1 million in the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years.
Among these, he said three vacant firefighter positions would remain unfilled and a firefighter would be laid off.