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The grants are made available through the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security and are a five-year commitment.
The fire department's manpower was cut back to below recommended
standards several years ago when six staff were cut from each of the
city's departments. This grant would help restore those positions.
Four men per rig is standard safety issue, Davis said. He was
recommending the department hire either three men or one additional
man to help get the department back to within safety standards.
The city's portion would be $103,500 per man over a five-year
period. Davis said that he had also calculated the additional costs
of training and equipping the new men. Aldermen had copies of yearly
breakdowns of the additional costs. The chief thanked Aldermen Daron
Whittaker and Verl Prather and City Clerk Melanie Riggs for their
assistance with gathering and formulating the figures.
Careful consideration was needed before going after the grant.
Not being able to follow through in keeping all the new men hired
with the grant for the full five years would possibly go against the
city in getting future grants.
Aldermen balanced their comments as favorable toward the
opportunity the grant presented versus leaving other departments
still being short-staffed. Other costs beyond salaries, such as
pensions, insurance and the like, needed to be considered as well.
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 The city is just beginning to recover from tight times. They've
taken on several major financial obligations over the last few years
in the effort to counteract declining revenues by investing in
infrastructure for several economic opportunities. Aldermen
considered that it could take several years before significant
revenue increases are seen.
Aldermen agreed that it is important to restore and increase
staffing to all departments as soon as possible.
Finance chairman Verl Prather said, "Honestly, we're doing a
little bit better, but I don't know if it could happen again. We
have to be concerned for the other departments as well, he said.
Davis said he understood. "I just wanted to bring this before you
to see," he said.
It was decided that there would be a much clearer picture of
finances and whether the city is ready for this commitment by this
time next year. "We need the staff and this helps pay for it,"
Prather said.
The grants are made available once a year and have been
 offered
for several years now. Davis said that there may be an advantage of
less competition, increasing the possibility of getting one in the
future, but there is also a risk of losing out, as it is unknown how
many more years this grant might be available.
[Jan
Youngquist] |
