Modesto considers applying for grant to hire nine firefighters over three years
The Modesto City Council on Tuesday will consider applying for a nearly $4.5 million federal grant that will allow the Fire Department to hire nine firefighters for three years.
The grant is through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program. The grant does not require a matching payment from the city.
But a city report states Modesto expects to incur nearly $484,000 in costs if the council applies for the grant and FEMA awards it. That’s because the grant would not cover the increased salaries and benefits over the three years for the nine firefighters. However, the report states Modesto would realize nearly $1.5 million in savings because the additional firefighters would reduce the department’s overtime costs.
The Fire Department has decreased the number of sworn firefighters positions from 182 to 130 since 2008 to balance its budgets, according to Fire Chief Alan Ernst.
Those positions do not include the 25 Modesto firefighters who serve Oakdale. Oakdale and the Oakdale Rural Fire Protection District contracted with Modesto almost two years ago for fire protection services.
Ernst said Modesto should know in August if FEMA is going to award it the grant, provided the Council applies for it. The city report recommends the Council do so.
Ernst said the grants are competitive, and FEMA awards them based on a fire agency’s ability to show its need. FEMA awarded the city SAFER grants in 2011 (for nine firefighters over three years) and in 2016 (for nine firefighters over two years), according to city records and Bee archives.
While Modesto is not required to keep the firefighters after the grant ends, Ernst said the city will look at how to keep them, such as having them fill vacant positions, if there is not enough money in the department’s budget.
The Council meets at 5:30 p.m. over Zoom. More information on how to watch and participate in the meeting is available at www.modestogov.com/749/City-Council-Agendas-Minutes and by clicking on the meeting’s link.
