WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - The Wichita Fire Union is upset with Wichita City Council member JV Johnston for comments he made during a budget workshop Tuesday afternoon.

The council was meeting to talk about a budget short fall the city is going to be facing in 2026 and 2027. One area that was brought to the council's attention was a grant with the fire department that will be expiring in 2026. The grant currently pays for 42 firefighter positions so this means those positions will either be cut or need to be paid for some other way.

"My personal opinion is to follow through the plan that we currently have and ensuring we have the appropriate staff for these positions," said City Council member Mike Hoheisel.

In response council member JV Johnston said he would push back on that. 

"I might push back on that a little bit. I think we need to look at all options to make sure we have a balanced budget. You have to balance police coverage with fire coverage and all the different needs of the community" said Johnston.

The Wichita fire union took this to mean he would be in support of possibly cutting the positions. The fire union says it's already short staffed and can't afford to lose more positions.

It took its frustrations about this online, calling council member Johnston a danger to Wichita. The post says 41 positions but the fire union confirmed with KAKE News that it is actually 42 positions that are paid for with the grant.

 

Facebook post from Wichita Fire Union
Facebook post from Wichita Fire Union Wichita Fire Union

 

"It shows his ignorance of emergency services and what happens on the streets of Wichita," said the fire union's president Ted Bush.

In the meeting Maggie Ballard also showed support to keeping the positions.

"We can't talk about public safety and have that be one of the major things we cut," Ballard said.

In response Johnston said, "you have to balance things out."

Bush says this shocked him when he heard his comments.

"In my 30 years as a Wichita firefighter and my five years as president we never even discussed laying off firefighters. Everybody in the city knows that we're stretched too thin," said Bush.

He says if anything the fire department needs more positions and this would be a major step in the wrong direction.

Council member Johnston says the fire union mischaracterized what he was saying. He declined to talk on camera but in a statement he said:

"With significant budget deficit is looming in 2026 and 2027, I think it is prudent to look at all possibilities to balance the budget. This includes the fire department as well as many other departments and benefits. I hear from a lot of residents that their taxes keep rising significantly and what are we doing to control costs. These are not easy discussions and are very difficult decisions."

The Fraternal Order of Police also responded to Johnston's comments. In a statement it said:

"Council Member Johnston's remarks are not just out of touch but also undermine the morale and commitment of our hardworking city employees. It is imperative that our city officials recognize the true value of our workforce and take immediate steps to address these compensation issues."