City of Oak Creek

Common Council Report

Meeting Date: June 7, 2005

Item No.:         16

Recommendation:  That the Common Council grant the Fire Department approval to apply for a SAFER Act grant.

Background:  The Federal government has started a new program called the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants.  The program is modeled after the COPS grant program which helps communities fund new police positions.  The City has participated in that program in the past.

The program provides funding of 90% the first year, 80% the second year, 50% the third year, and 30% the fourth year.  In the fifth year the positions are fully funded by the City.  The dollar value per position is capped at 36,000, 32,000, 20,000 and 12,000 dollars for years 1 thru 4.  Because of the growth of the City the department will be requesting additional personnel to deal with the increased population.  If the next request is approved for the 2006 budget, this federal funding would pick up a significant portion of those costs.

The application period for this program is very short and the department needs to move quickly to complete the application by the deadline of June 28.  If the grant is awarded the department will return to the Common Council to request permission to accept the grant before proceeding.

Fiscal Impact:  If the grant is awarded, the department will provide a 5 year cost projection to the Council before asking for approval to accept the grant.

	Respectfully submitted, Barbara S. Blumenfield, Ph.D City Administrator
Prepared and Approved by: Gerard R. Hammernik Fire Chief	Fiscal Review by: Beverly A. Buretta, CMC City Clerk