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Commissioners approve application for SAFER grant after debate over new county cost share
Summary
After federal rules changed to require local cost sharing, the Okeechobee County Board approved submitting an application for a FEMA SAFER grant to add 13 firefighters, subject to later board acceptance if awarded.
The Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to submit an application for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant to fund 13 firefighter positions.
Why it matters: the federal program recently changed its cost-share rules, moving the county away from a previously available three-year full federal pay model toward a phased local cost share. County staff and commissioners spent more than an hour discussing whether to apply given the new local budget exposure.
Fire Chief Wooten told…
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