3. Fire Department Safer GrantJune 16, 2008
TO: James H . Patrick, City Manager
FROM: Dan Diehl, Acting Fire chief
RE: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant
Kalispell Fire Department received confirmation that we were successful in our request for
a SAFER Grant through the Department of Homeland security for adding eight firefighters,
beginning October 1, 2008.
The city council has expressed concern due to budget constraints and the city will not be
able to continue the annual commitments as required by the grant. According to the grant
administrator the grant is an all or nothing requirement. We are not allowed to hire only a
portion of the personnel or accept only a portion of the granted dollar amount. It is
important to cancel the grant in a timely fashion allowing the program to redistribute funds
to other applicants. Failing to accept the grant will not affect future grants.
During my budget presentation, city council asked that 1 coordinate this year grant
application. The applications are due June 27h. It is my recommendation, we submit a
grant for 3 firefighters. The following is a budget matrix of my request.
mom,
33 1 527
7 3 ,533
141,659
1455909
150,286
708,914
e
53, 4 � 1
55,013
5C 664
58 364
,
60 114
283 566
�y_.....:..117,045
1043025
65,010
39,060
0
3255140
:::::.:W ..
69 893
88,521
133,313
165,213
21 a 40 0
4
66 a3 a
1863938
1929546
1989323
204,273
2105400
9925480
Kalispell Fire Department is faced with a major staffing shortage. The city has committed
available resources to address this shortage. Community growth has caused the need for
additional firefighters, growing faster than the city has been able to fund positions. In fact,
the gap in the ratio of firefighters to residents is actually higher today than it was two years
ago. The SAFER Grant is the best opportunity available to add enough firefighters to meet
the fire, EMS, and hazardous materials response needs of the community,
"'Assisting our community in reducing, preventing, and mitigating emergencies. "