City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: APRIL 4, 2018
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
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Consideration of a Grant Application to the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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ISSUE: Consideration of a grant application to the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Approve the submission of a grant application for $1.5 million over a three-year period to partially fund the addition of nine additional firefighters over a three-year period; and
(2) Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents that may be required.
BACKGROUND: On March 26, 2018, FEMA opened the competitive grant application period for the 2018 SAFER grant program. SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase the number of frontline firefighters. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the abilities of fire departments to comply with staffing response and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The SAFER grant program provides funding to local fire departments to increase staffing and deployment for new positions added to a department. On October 28, 2014, the Fire Chief outlined to Council a plan that included converting overtime single-role medic positions to dual-role firefighters. This change would allow the Department to utilize staffing efficiencies and advantages due to the eventual schedule consolidation of single-role medics (42-hour work weeks) to dual-role firefighters (56-hour weeks). The long-term goal of the plan would allo...
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