TROTWOOD — Trotwood City Council voted not to pass its 2026 budget plan that would have called for the elimination of five full-time firefighting positions.
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News Center 7 previously reported that the Trotwood Fire Department used a 2021 FEMA Safer Grant to pay for nine temporary employees. The grant lasted for three years.
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When the grant ended earlier this year, the city found money to hold on to five of those workers for the rest of the year.
“FEMA made changes to the retention portion of the grant program nationwide, making Trotwood ineligible to renew it,” the city said in a statement.
The city’s proposed 2026 budget does not include those five grant positions, meaning those firefighters will lose their jobs at the department.
The city council voted Monday night to reject the plan.
“I applaud the members of council that voted not to lay them off, and hopefully we can sit down and get to work and figure out how to how to keep firefighters long term and not just keep the ones we have,” John Harvey, the President of the Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters, said.
The Trotwood Fire Department’s Public Information Officer told News Center 7 that they appreciate the Union’s role in advocating for their fire crews.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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