By Katharine Wilson
The Capital
ANNAPOLIS, Md. 鈥� The Annapolis Fire Department is set to have six more firefighters, forming a peak-time medical unit, under Democratic Mayor Jared Littmann鈥檚 first budget proposal, for fiscal 2027. The union representing the firefighters, Annapolis Professional Firefighters Local 1926, and Fire Chief Douglas Remaley have pushed a peak-time medical unit as a priority for the department.
The medical unit is one of several improvements for the fire department included in the $204.9 million budget proposal, which keeps the property tax rate the same as the current fiscal year.
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鈥淔inally, we have a mayor that has listened to the people, not only just the fire chief and myself, but every other member of our department. We absolutely need this unit to go in service,鈥� union President Joe Pilat said in an interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a weekly, if not daily, occurrence that we are strapped for medical units.鈥�
Around 73% of all calls the Annapolis Fire Department responded to are for emergency medical services. In 2025, firefighters responded to 9,553 emergency medical calls and 3,371 fire calls, among others. All firefighters in Annapolis are also certified paramedics.
Pilat has criticized the current staffing system, which staffs a team of firefighters on both an ambulance and a fire engine. In 2024, firefighters were switched from fire engines to medical units about 160 times, according to a city statement in November.
The new peak medical unit, if passed in the final budget, would mean a fifth ambulance could be staffed during the busiest part of the day.
The fire department鈥檚 operating budget under Littmann鈥檚 proposal is $28.4 million, up from $27 million in the current fiscal year.
In the proposed capital budget, Littmann included a $200,000 request to fix worn-down engine bay floors, $349,000 for bathrooms in several fire stations, and an eventual $11 million to completely remodel or rebuild three fire stations.
The city is also set to receive $950,000 from the state鈥檚 capital budget to replace ambulances used by the fire department.
The fire union and Littmann started off on the wrong foot, with the union accusing Littmann, who was inaugurated in December, of not listening to its concerns. But the relationship has improved in recent months. Littmann sent a letter to the union in late January acknowledging staffing concerns, and the mayor met with Pilat in February.
While the peak medic unit is included in the proposal, the budget will now be reviewed by the City Council and may be subject to changes.
Democratic Ward 1 Alderman Harry Huntley, who leads the budget-reviewing Finance Committee, said he isn鈥檛 sure if additional fire department staffing is the best use of city funds. The city has a 鈥渂est in class鈥� Insurance Services Office rating, which is based on the fire security of an area.
鈥淭he thing that I saw is we鈥檙e adding even more staff to the fire department, which is meeting its metrics, while we have other departments that clearly need additional resources to meet their performance metrics that we鈥檙e not seeing additional funding for,鈥� Huntley said.
In addition to City Council changes, the result of union negotiations could alter the budget鈥檚 overall trajectory. A city budget has to be passed by the City Council before the next fiscal year begins in July.
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