The acting chief of the Newburgh Fire Department says there is nothing luxurious about their budget allocation for 2019. 

"We asked for new equipment, as you can see we don't get new equipment. We asked for the manpower to be where it needs to be without the grant. Of course, we can't do it without the grant," says Terry Ahlers, acting chief.

That SAFER grant from FEMA has to be matched with city funds. The city's new financial consultant, Westchester-based CPA Charles Duffy, says he'll work with council to find ways for long-term funding. 

"What we can do financially to get away from the thought of grant after grant after grant. Because the people that issue these grants don't intend for you to be coming back to the well," says Duffy.

He holds a mix of private and public accounting and comptroller experience.

But, Newburgh did have to go back to the well as this SAFER grant is the third issued. Yet, the president of the Newburgh Firefighters Union is hopeful changes can be made to prevent a fourth. 

"I hope that this new consultant that they have will hopefully bring some new ideas to the table as far as how we budget going forward, and how we maintain and improve what we have," says Brendan Hogan, IAFF local 589 president.

Duffy says in the four weeks he has been on the job he identified a couple of changes that could help. One idea is to look at staffing models for police and fire to make sure that people and roles fit the department needs which he says can minimize overtime. 

"That's what we need to do with these analyses of right-sizing each title to minimize the what I call systemic overtime use," says Duffy.  

Duffy also says that he is exploring the possibility of borrowing for capital expenses like equipment and facilities, and that a possible exemption for $9 million in sewer debt may help. 

"Having eight million dollars under the debt ceiling or seventeen million dollars under the debt ceiling, I think that you can then restart our stalled capital plan from 2015," says Duffy.

The city plans to hold a public forum on November 16, to hear concerns from residents on the budget. City Council is expected to vote on a final version at the end of the month.