The Smithville Aldermen Monday night gave their blessing for the fire department to re-apply for a FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant, which if approved, would fund the hiring of firefighters for up to two years at no costs to the city.
The aldermen first voted to apply for this grant in March but Fire Chief Charlie Parker said Monday night that the application was not approved. He asked the aldermen to allow him to try again. If approved, the grant would fund salaries and benefits for a certain number of firefighters. The city would be under no obligation to keep funding the positions locally after the grant funds are exhausted.
Chief Parker said while the first application was denied, the city fire department drew favorable comments from FEMA officials.
In a letter to Chief Parker, Elizabeth M. Harman, FEMA Grant Programs Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, wrote that “Each SAFER application was subjected to a two-phase review, with each phase carrying equal weight. The first phase was an automated assessment of how well the application matched the Program’s priorities. The second phase was a review by a panel of fire service peers. The panelists assigned scores to four elements of your application narrative: (1) clarity of the project description, (2) demonstration of financial need, (3) impact on daily operations, and (4) realization of cost/benefits. Each of the two phases of the review carried equal weight and each phase was worth 50% of the application’s overall score.”
“Given the high number of applications received, it is not feasible for us to provide a detailed account of how each individual application was rated in the competitive process,” wrote Harman. ” However, we can tell you that your application faired reasonably well in the automated assessment and in the second phase, the peer review panel scores indicate that your application was generally good and above average but lacked the level of detail needed to be considered for funding. To help you obtain a higher score in a future SAFER grant request, it is recommended that you review the portion of your application in which you addressed the impact of the grant on daily operations, how the community and current firefighters are at risk without the grant, and to what extent that risk will be reduced if awarded.”
“To further improve the competitiveness of future SAFER grant requests, we recommend that you review the part of your application that answered specific questions about your proposed SAFER activity.”
The city budgeted $35,000 this year to hire a full time fire department administrator. That position has not yet been filled.
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