Grant would fund floating firefighter
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published June 25, 2008

City officials have decided one is better than three when it comes to seeking a potential federal grant for additional firefighters.

Administration officials said they have decided to seek funds for a single firefighter instead of three when the city sends in an application for a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency later this week. During the June 16 City Council committee sessions, several officials expressed interest in possibly applying for funds for three firefighters instead of one. The interest came after Fire Chief Jim Sammon and Law Director Gary Ebert said their preliminary review of grant guidelines indicated that it might be easier for the city to seek funds for three firefighters instead of one. Administration officials say the funds could be used to help pay for a floating firefighter position to rotate between shifts and help deal with the controversy over the reduction in minimum staffing from six to five firefighters when a fireman calls off.

Sammon and Ebert said later in the week they reviewed the matter again and consulted with Mayor Debbie Sutherland and decided to seek funds for the single firefighter.

“It’s what the administration thinks is best on this one,” said Ebert “We’re going to seek the single firefighter.”

In the program, FEMA agrees to pay funds on a descending scale for four years towards a firefighter with the program starting at about 90 percent and benefits the first year, 80 percent the second, 50 percent the third and 30 percent the fourth.

Sammon said the concerns he expressed during the meeting about the program funding being more geared toward three firefighters are based on the information he had available.

“We’ve discussed it further and decided that we’ll seek the funds for one,” Sammon said. “Right now, we’re busy getting the application ready to go since we’ve got to get it out by the 27th.”

Sammon said if the city gets the funds it can help cut down the overtime costs, which prompted Sutherland earlier this year to cut the minimum staffing level to five from six when a firefighter calls off.

“If we get it, we can use it towards hiring a floater,” Sammon said. “Even if we don’t get, we are still moving towards getting a floater.”

Ebert said with or without the grant application, council would be considering a proposal at the June 30 meeting to increase the fire department manpower by one.

“It would be for the floater position,” Ebert said. “That way we’ve got it underway before the break.”

City Council is scheduled to take a summer break in July and August.

When contacted, Sutherland said she is moving ahead on the floater proposal whether the city gets the grant or not.

“It could help us pay for it, if not we’re still looking at using funds from the fees collected for ambulance runs,” she said.

She reiterated that a floater position can cut down overtime and having shifts run on lower manpower.

During the discussion, while officials and residents were talking about whether one or three would be best, Sammon and Ebert said perhaps they should discuss it further before formally applying.

Council President Brian Cruse said he thought the city should move ahead with the application.

“It never hurts to try anything like that,” Cruse said.

Resident Alex Dade asked if the city could put language in the proposal which could allow the city to apply for one to up to three firefighters.

Sammon said getting any funds for any additional firefighters will be a bonus because the department has several firefighters who will be eligible to retire in the next few years.

“We could see a large number of retirements, so we’re going to have a number of new and younger firefighters coming in,” Sammon said. “Whether we use funds from this grant, the EMS fees, or a combination of things we’re going to have to deal with staffing issues.”

He said it could be several months before the city hears if it got the grant.

Marty Mace, a city firefighter and a spokesman for Bay Citizens for Safety, said that group remains primarily concerned with the staffing level of the department.

“We want to make sure there is adequate safety and coverage, which means having at least six firefighters,” he said.

Sutherland said city officials have had more than 100 squad runs so far which will be billed. She said they will review financial figures as soon as they are available.