Title
Recommendation to Accept $1,600,786.50 Grant EMW-2018-FH-00229 from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program; and
Adoption of Resolution Amending the Fiscal Year 2019-20 Fire Grants Fund Revenue and Expenditures Budget by $2,595,870, Each, and the General Fund Expenditures Budget by $995,084 to Allocate the Required Matching Funds mandated by the SAFER Grant Program. (Fire 220)
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To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Fire Department has been awarded a new Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant EMW-2018-FH-00229 to hire six limited-term firefighters. These six limited-term positions are in addition to the six firefighter positions currently funded by the SAFER Grant first received in 2009. Under the new conditions of the award, the grant requires a local match of $995,083.50. The federal share of the grant is $1,600,786.50 for a total cost of $2,595,870. The City of Alameda (City) must accept the grant in order for the Fire Department to fund the additional six limited-term firefighter positions.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Grant Programs Directorate implements and administers the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants. SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase the number of frontline firefighters, rehire firefighters who have been laid off, retain firefighters facing imminent layoffs, or fill positions that were vacated through attrition.
Over the past 11 years, the City Fire Department has applied for five separate SAFER grants for the purpose of funding six limited-term firefighters and was approved for awards in 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2018 totaling over $8.6 million.
In September 2018, the Fire Department was awarded a $3,043,494 SAFER grant ($1,166,671 matching funds and $1,876,823 federal share). This grant allowed the ...
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