A revised Wilmington budget will add a new fire academy class and equipment to the Wilmington Fire Department, but a property tax hike and job cuts remain.

The compromise $154.9 million budget proposal was discussed in a committee meeting Monday night and will be presented for a vote at the City Council meeting on Thursday. It represents a compromise between Mayor Mike Purzycki's administration and the City Council.

The revision adds about $800,000 to the budget, mostly to the fire department. The additions include:

$386,000 for a 14-week fire training class and to fund overtime during the training period

$30,000 to reinstitute a Fire Explorers Program that educates young city residents about firefighting and promotes it as a career option

$70,000 for safety equipment

The city is not yet sure how many firefighters will be hired through the academy, said John Rago, the mayor's deputy chief of staff for policy and communication.

After the elimination of the 16 vacant positions, city officials said there would be seven vacancies. Fire Chief Michael Donohue said during the department's budget hearing that eight people are required to hold an academy class, which trains people with no experience. Short of eight people, he said, the city uses a certified list of already-trained firefighters. The city initiated that hiring process last month.

City Council members objected to the certified list, saying that fire training requirements robbed a career opportunity from Wilmington's youth.

Now, the city is changing course, Rago said.

"Everybody will have a fair shot to become a firefighter," he said. "If someone has expressed an interest through the employment announcement, we’ll make sure they can still become part of that class."

The staffing cuts would change the fire department's authorized strength from 172 to 156. It would necessitate the return of rolling bypass, the unpopular practice of closing engines on a rotating basis during staffing shortages, which would be often under the current work schedule, city officials said. The mayor has proposed the return of a "3-3-3" schedule that he said could negate the need for rolling bypass.

STORY: Purzycki: Fire cuts work with proposed scheduling changes

STORY: Purzycki proposes tax hike, staffing cuts in Wilmington

But changing the work schedule requires an agreement with the union, whose president said he opposes schedule changes and the cuts overall.

"No other city department is being cut like the Wilmington Fire Department," said Wilmington firefighter union president Kevin Turner at the committee meeting on Monday. "I find it hard to believe that both branches of government have not learned a lesson from Sept. 24, 2016."

Three firefighters were killed in and after a Sept. 24 blaze in Canby Park. At the time, the nearest engine was out of service to save on overtime costs. No published evidence has indicated the cost-saving measures contributed to the fatalities — the fire is still under federal investigation — but Turner has repeatedly expressed his belief that rolling bypass is connected to the severity of that fire.

"Now we're seeing our own chief turn his back on us," Turner said. "I can't express how disappointed I am and my membership is."

Councilman Ciro Adams, the body's sole Republican, said the fire cuts aren't so bad.

"We are not giving pink slips to 16 people," he said. "Don't look at this as a reduction. Look at this as an opportunity to hire."

Councilman Bob Williams said the city should be hiring 23 firefighters to reach the current authorized strength. He said he will vote against the "irresponsible" cuts.

"I still think there are other ways to save money," he said. "They've got to go after health care. They need to start serious negotiations with the unions."

The revised budget follows over a month of budget hearings which started after the mayor's budget address in March. According to the mayor's office, Purzycki's multi-year plan, a first of its kind according to the city, eliminates a $2 million projected budget deficit for next fiscal year and helps to mitigate, but does not eliminate, multimillion-dollar projected budget deficits for the subsequent three fiscal years.

If the budget passes, the projected deficit will be paid for in part by a 7.5 percent property tax increase and a 4 percent increase to the water/sewer rate.

The mayor's office said the plan allows the city to endure a projected decrease of $920,000 in the city wage tax next year, a projected increase of $701,000 in overtime costs for the police and fire departments and a projected $1.2 million increase in employee and retiree health care benefits, to which the mayor said employees will need to contribute more. Health benefits will need to be negotiated with city unions.

Other additional expenditures requested by the Purzycki administration, City Council or city treasurer include:

$22,500 to support a Safe Haven summer youth activity center in the City’s 6th District, which is currently the only council district without such a facility. The city’s Safe Haven locations are being coordinated this year with the Centers for Disease Control Community Advisory Council, which is implementing the CDC's 2015 recommendations to reduce youth violence.

$35,000 to supplement the city’s existing $45,000 budget for a Live Where You Work Program that incentivizes people to purchase a home in Wilmington

$125,000 to study how to bring Wilmington into compliance with requirements of the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act

$69,000 to repay the federal government as part of a 2008 Department of Justice grant the city received to upgrade communications equipment for the police department. (An audit penalized the city for not following accounting procedures by pooling money with the state, Rago said.

$5,800 to supplement the state-funded salary of the city’s historic preservation planner

$61,600 allocated to Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter for a debt management software program, to increase her consultant or contracted services budget allowance and for travel and community activities

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.