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Emergency management and volunteer fire departments request continued grant matches and equipment funding
Summary
Emergency management presented a largely level budget and asked for a small temporary admin position to support a storm shelter grant; volunteer fire departments requested continued $20,000 grant match and new radios and run‑based payments.
Cooke County emergency management asked commissioners for modest budget increases to support anticipated programs and maintenance. The emergency management presenter requested $5,000 to bring on temporary administrative help to support a storm‑shelter grant program and discussed recurring items including CodeRED subscription, tower maintenance and hot spots. He also supported continued county safety‑program funding to help reduce insurance loss rates.
On the fire side, department representatives asked the court to continue a $20,000 per‑department grant‑match program that helps volunteer departments secure large state and federal grants. Fire leaders said apparatus and equipment costs have risen sharply — one example given was tanker trucks rising from ~$600,000 to ~$800,000 — and that local match funding helps departments win grants for safer, newer equipment.
Fire chiefs also requested funding for 700‑megahertz radios (roughly $35,000 for one radio per department in the budget discussion) to supplement existing VHF equipment, pager upkeep and run‑based support (they requested $20,000 per department and $17.50 per run as a formula). Emergency management and fire representatives said both training and maintained pagers are important ongoing costs. Commissioners and staff discussed past match amounts (previously $10,000 and increased in recent years to $20,000) and generally expressed support for continued partnership, but made no final budget vote during the hearing.
