Daily Express – Western Pacific Island News – Follow-up: Budget hearing shows retirements, deployments reduce Guam Fire Department staffing

Upcoming retirements and extended deployments of the Guam National Guard and Military Reserve are shrinking the department’s personnel, making it harder and more expensive to accomplish its mission, top Guam Fire Department officials said Thursday at a budget hearing in the Legislature. The Guam Fire Department is requesting $40,461,903 for fiscal year 2025, an increase of $3,550,431 or 9.62 percent from the $36,911,472 approved for 2024. As an example of the high turnover rate, 33 new staff members have been hired since fiscal year 2022, but another 38 have retired or resigned, with four more expected to retire this year, Guam Fire Department officials said. That’s leading to increased costs, especially overtime, officials said. The Guam Fire Department’s retirements are based on a law passed in 2022 that lowered the retirement age from 62 to 55 for public safety and law enforcement officers under the Government of Guam’s established retirement plan.