The City of Jackson has been notified the city has been awarded a $1.67 million SAFER grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The city must decide whether they will accept the grant by next month. According to FEMA, The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) program was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities.
The city received a $1.9 million SAFER grant in 2012 to hire and retain nine firefighters. Upon the expiration of the grant and the grant’s extension, nine firefighters were laid off in October of 2015.
The $1.67 million SAFER grant would temporarily staff nine firefighters for a two-year period. City officials have until mid- to late-October to accept the grant, with funds set to flow into the department beginning in February 2017 if accepted.
“We have time to deliberate with the firefighters union and reach an agreement before the deadline to accept the grant sunsets,” said Will Forgrave, public information officer for the city of Jackson. “Just like the SAFER grant before it, we want to have a contract before we accept the grant. Even if we accepted the grant today, we would have to wait until February to begin using the funds.”
Forgrave said the city believes it’s critical to consider the city’s future and make sure the decisions made today do not negatively impact citizens years down the road. In question are conditions in the grant that would add to longterm liabilities to city taxpayers.
“Pension costs for retired emergency personnel are now costing area residents more in taxes than the entire operating millage for the city itself,” Jackson Mayor Bill Jors said. “Due to a property tax approved by voters in 1974 to fund firefighter retirement costs, those taxes will continue to rise unless we lower pension costs and come to terms with what our fire department will cost us years down the road.”
Since the Act 345 millage was established, it has grown from .4 mills to its current 7.2 mills, creating a $4.1 million pension tax to city property owners annually – a figure that will likely grow unless city officials take a measured, conservative approach which includes consideration of the SAFER grant, Jors said.
Response times to home fires remained steady from 2012-2015, according to a press release from the city. The release stated average response times ranged from 3.5 minutes to 4.5 minutes within that time frame, with calls to building fires dropping year after year. In all of 2012, firefighters responded to 51 building fires, while in 2015, firefighters responded to 26. In 2012 and 2013, just 4.5 and 2.5 percent of department calls were fire related.
“It would be irresponsible to accept this grant without first considering its long-term financial impact to city taxpayers” Jors said.
A spokesman for the firefighters’ union, Joel Skrypec, said it is their hope the city accepts the SAFER grant. “The fact of the matter is the SAFER grant has no bearing on the contract or the pension. The grant will provide funding for additional personnel and the only thing the city pays for is equipment.” said Skrypec. “The city knows we are drastically understaffed and we feel accepting the SAFER grant is in the best interest of the citizens.”
Skrypec, who is vice president of the Summit Jackson Professional Firefighters union disputes the figures released. “Last year, we responded to 134 fires which included 87 structure fires. As of September 2, there were 115 total fires of all sorts and 78 structure fires for 2016, also encompassing mutual aid fires.”
Skrypec added, “The firefighters gave unprecedented concessions in our last contract and it should be noted police retirement costs are also included in those tax approved pension funds. I really hope they take the SAFER grant and it has no bearing on our contract.”