Stripping Fire Station No. 5 of its firefighters and converting the 9th and 9th station to a medical-response center could lead to longer response times to blazes in the capital. So says Dennis McKone, acting chief for the Salt Lake City Fire Department, who told the City Council on Tuesday he is "not sold" on Mayor Ralph Becker's proposal. Becker argues 80 percent of No. 5 calls are medical. He wants to spread those firefighters to other command centers to save $500,000 or more. But McKone says 68 percent of the calls are medical, while 32 percent are fire-related. He proposed making internal tweaks to cut costs, but insisted the loss of any firefighter positions makes him uncomfortable. Becker is trying to close a $23 million gap between budget requests and actual revenue. The City Council will vote on the balance sheet, including any Fire Department changes, in June. - Derek P. Jensen

Highlights from Becker's budget

Ralph Becker has unveiled his first budget as Salt Lake City mayor. It's a $779 million spending plan for 2008-09 that:

* Calls for no tax increase.

* Boosts from $50,000 to $500,000 the allocation for bikeways and trails.

* Steers $500,000 toward renovating a vacant building near the transit hub into a possible public market.

* Allots nearly a half-million dollars (including federal grants) for the Jordan River Parkway to help connect 200 South to North Temple and a portion farther north near the Davis County line.

* Sets aside $100,000 for a Sugar House streetcar environmental study.

* Converts 10 city vehicles to electric cars.

* Adds two cops and five police-support personnel.

* Redeploys staff and equipment from Fire Station No. 5 to generate $500,000 and convert station into emergency-training headquarters.

* Bumps employee pay by $4 million, but slashes

28 positions to save

$1 million.

* Raises city fees ranging from building and parking tickets to cemetery and business licenses.

* Dedicates glass-recycling centers in four council districts, including downtown, 9th and 9th and 15th and 15th neighborhoods.

Note: To view the entire proposed budget, go to http://www.slcgov.com/finance/2009budget/BBmayor09.pdf