Item #05
Date: January 18, 2022
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ron Karlen, Fire Chief
Jim Schaad, City Manager
Subject: FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Application Recommendation:
Pass a Motion to 1) authorize the City Manager to submit for a FEMA SAFER Grant and 2) authorize the City Manager to accept the grant if awarded.
Rationale for Recommendation:
Each year fire agencies have the opportunity to submit for the SAFER grant and the Marysville Fire Department has been successful in the past. This grant augments funds over a three-year period with no matching funds for salaries and benefits. This is one-way Marysville can hire three additional Firefighters with support of Federal dollars. After three years, the city must decide whether to keep the positions and pay full cost for employees or to decrease staffing.
Background:
The Marysville Fire Department needs to hire additional staffing to meet the needs of the increased call volume and growing overlapping call issues. In 2021, the Marysville Fire Department responded to 4,073 calls for service with an increase in overlapping calls. With one engine staffing, we are not able to respond consistently to the overlapping calls. In 2019, the Department was able to hire three Firefighters from the SAFER program to bring daily staffing to four personnel, which expires in March of 2023.
If awarded this grant, staffing will increase to five per day. This will allow staffing of the Quick Attack vehicle with two personnel while the engine is staffed with three personnel, allowing more opportunity to respond to overlapping calls for service. It also allows for more personnel to respond to structure fires, vegetation fires and vehicle accidents where more personnel are required to mitigate complex situations.
This model also provides for economy of scale to medical calls and less wear and tear on larger fire apparatus, ultimately cutting fuel, maintenance and operational costs.
Alignment with Council Goals:
The proposed grant facilitates achieving the City Council Goal #1, Increase Fiscal Sustainability and Goal #4, Enhanced Public Safety.
Legal Review:
The staff report has been reviewed as to legal form and content.
Fiscal Analysis:
The current fiscal impact will be for personal protective equipment and hiring process components estimated to be $10,000 per person or $30,000 total for the three positions. This amount would be budgeted for in the 2022-2023 budget cycle. In addition, overtime cost on average is approximately $17,000 per employee.
The grant request, in the amount of $265,319 will cover the salaries and benefits for three personnel for three years at a Firefighter position salary with no matching cost. The cost after three years would need to be evaluated if current finances can sustain the positions.
Attachment(s):
1) FEMA SAFER FAQ’s for 2021
2) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO):
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_fy21-afg-nofo.pdf