City of Oak Creek

Common Council Report

Meeting Date: August 21, 2007

Item No.:        

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

Background:  The Federal government has again offered the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants.  The program is modeled after the COPS grant program which helps communities fund new law enforcement positions.  The City has participated in that program in the past 2 years.

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 per position for years 1 thru 4.  The total federal grant is capped at $300,000 over the 5 year period.   Because of the population growth and on-going development in the City, the department is requesting additional personnel to address the increased demands for service.

The application window for this program is very short and the department needs to move quickly to complete the application by the deadline of August 31st.  If the grant is awarded to the department, we 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.

Prepared by Thomas Rosandich Assistant Chief	Respectfully submitted, Patrick Degrave City Administrator
Approved by: Brian Satula Fire Chief	Fiscal Review by: Beverly A. Buretta, CMC City Clerk