Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Grants topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Berkeley County to apply for COPS, SAFER grants to expand sheriff and fire staffing
Summary
The Berkeley County Commission voted to apply for a U.S. Department of Justice COPS hiring grant to fund five sheriff deputies and a FEMA SAFER grant to add up to 12 career firefighters; both applications require local matches and would increase recurring personnel costs after the federal funding ends.
The Berkeley County Commission voted to apply for two federal hiring grants that would add sworn patrol deputies and career firefighters to county public safety forces.
The commission approved applying for a U.S. Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program grant to fund five deputy sheriff positions and a FEMA SAFER grant to hire up to 12 firefighters. County staff and commissioners said the grants would cover a portion of compensation during the grants’ terms, but the county would be responsible for larger recurring costs after federal funding ends.
County officials said the COPS application requests five deputy positions under a 36-month award; the grant provides a fixed per-officer amount over the grant life and requires a 25% local match. Chad Womberg, deputy county administrator, said the DOJ award figure used in the application is $125,000 per officer over the life of the grant and that the county’s post‑grant obligation for the five deputies would be about $674,468. “I think this is the time we've ever went into these grants with the picture quite so clear as to, you know, what the actual dollars are, across the entire life of the grant,” Womberg said.
On the fire side, the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) application the county will submit asks for 12 firefighters. The county estimated all‑in compensation at $83,591 per firefighter. Under the FEMA formula presented to the commission, the grant would pay most of the three‑year cost while the county share would step up over time; the total grant and match for the three‑year period was shown in staff materials, and commissioners were told annual recurring costs after the grant ends would be about $1,003,092 for the 12 positions. County staff said the SAFER award schedule varied year to year; this cycle’s formula covers 75% in years one and two and 35% in year three for the positions requested.
Commissioners and staff framed the applications as part of multi‑year efforts to strengthen public‑safety staffing. County Administrator Gary (last name not stated in the transcript) and other commissioners noted the county has been increasing public‑safety capacity and that winning the grants would help accelerate hiring. Gary told the commission the board should plan budget growth into future years because the county will be “on the hook” for the recurring costs when grant funding ends.
The commission moved to approve submitting both grant applications and voted to authorize staff to proceed; the vote was recorded by voice and carried with the board saying “Aye.” Staff said award notifications would arrive from federal agencies later in the year if Berkeley County is selected; DOJ awards commonly arrive by late summer and FEMA’s SAFER announcements are released in waves over a period of weeks.
If awarded, staff said the sheriff would prioritize filling the grant‑funded deputy positions among upcoming vacancies so the federal funding period would apply to the new hires. For SAFER, staff said the county would place hires where the fire department identified the greatest need and that the volunteer fire service board and county would share implementation and long‑term costs as described in grant materials.
Next steps: county staff will complete and submit the applications, monitor federal award announcements, and return to the commission if awards are made or if staff requests further direction on match or equipment funding.
