When the city asked its fire department to come up with a way to pay for additional firefighters, the fire department did so. Third-party billing of squad runs was enacted and has proven lucrative for the city, so much so that the city has used the money for general operations — not for hiring additional firefighters as was intended. Now the city is telling the fire department they must once again come up with a plan to pay for additional firefighters. Enough is enough. The city needs additional revenue, but it also needs additional firefighters. The fire department held up its end of the deal. The city still hasn’t. Third-party billing has generated up to $400,000 a year, certainly enough to cover the salaries and benefits of additional firefighters. Knowing the city has financial constraints, fire officials have proposed a grant program that would help cover the cost of new firefighters for two years, but then the city would have to cover the cost from there.