April 24 -- CITY OF NEWBURGH, NY -- The city will try to get one more federal grant to help retain 12 firefighters facing layoffs when the previous grant runs out at the end of July.
The City Council unanimously voted Monday night to apply for a $1.37 million grant from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
That three-year grant, if received, would pay for nine of the firefighters. The city would come up with money in its own budget to pay for the other three. The city also will have to match 25 percent of the grant in the first two years, and 65 percent in year three.
The city received two previous SAFER grants, in 2014 and 2016. The latter grant, which runs out July 31, prevented the layoff of 12 firefighters two years ago.
City officials feel this is their best short-term shot at saving the firefighters' jobs.
"This speaks to the commitment I think the entire board has for the fire department," said Councilwoman Karen Mejia. She called the plan to pay for three firefighters and seek funding for the other nine positions "the most competitive narrative" to present to the federal government.
But getting the grant is a long shot, as City Manager Michael Ciaravino reminded council members during a work session discussion last week.
"It's unusual to get SAFER renewed twice," Ciaravino said. "It's a very high bar."
And if the grant does not come through, there could be some tough decisions to make.
"The alternative, as I understand it, is to raise taxes," Ciaravino said. "We need to be cognizant of this."
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, said in a news release Tuesday that he is "concerned" with the city committing to fund just three firefighter positions.
"It's always been my position that saving all 12 firefighter jobs should be the city council's highest spending priority – especially after the city received half a million dollars from the county," Maloney said in the release. "While I'm glad the city council has opted to save three jobs, I remain concerned that this will be viewed as a half-measure by FEMA and make securing these federal investments less likely."
Unlike past SAFER grants, the current ones are for new hires only, not retention of existing staff, so the city's eligibility also could depend on whether FEMA makes a decision before or after Aug. 1, when the firefighters are due to be laid off.
"If it's awarded in July, we have a problem," Ciaravino said.
___
(c)2018 The Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y. Visit The Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y. at www.recordonline.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
