The Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company says it is facing an $84,000 deficit and is asking city officials to consider setting aside a portion of building permit fees to help create a steady revenue stream.

Spokesman Warren Jones said the department’s operating budget has snowballed, citing construction on Station 2 on Route 1 as the primary factor.

Jones said the $4 million building was rushed into construction before half the money could be raised, fast-tracked in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Jones said had the storm scored a direct hit on Rehoboth, Station 1 in downtown Rehoboth could have been potentially wiped out, leaving no place to store equipment. He said the new Station 2 was conceived as a place that could act as a command center for state and federal personnel in the event of a big storm.

“That pushed our budget up because now we had to build before we had the funds raised, and we had a larger mortgage,” Jones told the Rehoboth commissioners April 10.

In addition, personnel costs have also put a strain on the budget. Jones said $1 million of the company’s $2.5 million budget goes towards full-time emergency responders. He said as Rehoboth has become more of a full-time community, the volume of calls has gone up; the company has two full-time, two-person ambulance crews. All told, Jones said, the company’s downtown Station 1 handles over 600 emergency calls per year, nearly 20 percent of the company’s overall volume

“It’s not just Memorial Day to Labor Day anymore,” Jones said.

The company keeps three ambulances in service at all times - a third crew is staffed by volunteers - but has two crews on at all times 24/7. Jones said this has also put a strain on the operating budget.

Looking forward, Jones said the company will soon have to replace its fleet of fire trucks, with all the vehicles over 20 years old. And the company also faces the prospect of diminished recruitment of new members joining the service.

Jones said the company has tried to cut where they can, downsizing one vehicle. The company still faces an $84,000 deficit this year and it will be forced to dip into its savings to offset it.

In the future, Jones said, the company was asking the Rehoboth commissioners to consider an ordinance that would set aside a small percentage of building permit fees to go to the fire company. He said Sussex County has had a similar ordinance on the books for years, and it would give the company a steady source of income. Jones said the goal of his April 10 presentation was to raise awareness of the issues.

“We’re not here to beg on hand and knee. We’re here to say, ‘Here’s the problem we’re undertaking now.’ “We’re trying to do the best we can to offset the problem on our own,” he said.