Oct. 10--A grant that FEMA has made available for the Tyler Fire Department has sparked a political brushfire at City Hall.
The $1.58 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant would require significant matching funds from the city during tight budget times.
The matter is slated to be discussed in Wednesday's meeting of the Tyler City Council.
There's some political pressure to accept the grant coming from the Tyler Professional Fire Fighters Association, the AFL-CIO-affiliated firefighter's group.
"The Tyler Fire Department competed against thousands of departments during the rigorous grant process and was one of only 10 departments selected from Texas," Justin Dominy, president of IAFF Local 883, said in a news release urging the council to accept the grant. "Cooperation between our association and the city made this happen. We are grateful for our community's support of firefighters."
The news release -- and the name of the grant itself -- suggest the money is needed to provide adequate staffing for the city's fire stations.
"Adequate staffing levels are crucial to ensure the safety of our citizens and firefighters," Dominy said. "The SAFER Grant was created to provide funding directly to fire departments to help add and retain trained, front-line firefighters in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments' ability to comply with staffing response and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Association. Our city officials understand this."
But the press release was premature, city officials said. The city must provide matching funds -- an obligation of nearly $1 million over the three-year term of the grant -- at a time when the city budget is tight. The city has been under a hiring freeze for all but essential positions since sales tax revenues, a large part of the city's budget, started falling three years ago.
"We have been able to maintain very good quality service and we have maintained low ISO (Insurance Services Office) ratings with the current staffing levels," Mayor Martin Heines said. "It is our fiduciary responsibility as a council to carefully consider everything that comes before us. We are the steward for the taxpayers. So that will be something we talk about on Wednesday."
ISO ratings, issued by the Insurance Service Office, evaluate a community's preparedness for fire emergencies. The city of Tyler's ISO rating is Class 2, which is high enough to result in reduced property insurance rates for homeowners and businesses.
The proposed grant covers 12 new positions. That would take staffing from the current 156 authorized firefighter positions to 168.
The grant would cover 75 percent of the cost for the first and second years. FEMA would pay $640,998 each year, while the city would be responsible for $213,666 each year.
In the third year, the city would be responsible for 35 percent of the total, or $555,532 of the $854,664 yearly cost. The total for the city would be $982,864 over the three years.
Fire Chief David Coble, in a memo to the City Council, recommends accepting the grant.
The Tyler City Council meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Tyler City Hall, 212 N. Bonner St.
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