Joint Statement from the MCVFRA & IAFF Local 1664 Regarding the FY2027 Budget

The Montgomery County Volunteer Fire-Rescue Association (MCVFRA) and IAFF Local 1664 share serious concerns regarding recent staffing decisions affecting Hillandale Tower 724 and the Laytonsville Rescue Squad.

Our organizations, representing both career and volunteer responders, are united in the belief that major public safety deployment decisions must be made through a transparent process grounded in operational analysis, community impact, and frontline realities, not late-stage political bargaining.

Throughout the budget process, concerns were repeatedly raised regarding the operational implications of reducing or relocating frontline staffing resources. Both organizations advocated for a more open and transparent public discussion regarding the impacts these decisions could have on emergency response capability, unit availability, and service delivery.

Instead, these decisions became part of closed-door budget reconciliation negotiations and backroom dealmaking that provided little meaningful opportunity for public engagement, operational scrutiny, or community input.

That is unacceptable for decisions involving frontline emergency response resources.

Public safety staffing decisions should not be driven primarily by opaque fiscal negotiations disconnected from field operations and real-world response demands. Residents deserve to know why frontline resources are being shifted, what operational risks were identified, what alternatives were considered, and why certain communities were ultimately asked to absorb those impacts.

Both organizations recognize that the County faces legitimate fiscal and staffing pressures. But those pressures require thoughtful long-term planning, transparent deployment analysis, recruitment and retention investments, and honest public discussion about system capacity and resource allocation, not rushed budget compromises made largely outside public view.

MCVFRA and IAFF Local 1664 remain committed to working collaboratively with MCFRS leadership, County officials, and community stakeholders to strengthen Montgomery County’s fire-rescue system and ensure residents continue receiving the high level of emergency service they expect and deserve.

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