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Committee recommends accepting SAFER grant to fund six firefighter positions; budget match required later
Summary
Winchester's Finance Committee voted to forward a resolution accepting a FY24 SAFER grant that would fund six new firefighter positions over a multi‑year period; officials said the grant pays roughly half the cost over the grant term and will help the department reach three‑on‑apparatus staffing goals.
The Winchester City Finance Committee voted to forward to full council a resolution to accept a FY24 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant that will fund six firefighter positions partially over the grant period.
Patrick Elwell, who presented financial details, said, "The award that we've received is for 6 firefighter positions, funded partially over 3 years." He told the committee the grant's local match requirement moves from 25% in the first two years to 65% in year three and that the grant timeline required breaking out costs across fiscal years that do not match the city's normal budget year.
Chief Archie Drew Savage described how the new hires fit departmental staffing goals. "This is this gets this will get us to 3 on all the fire apparatus," Savage said, describing the effect on minimum staffing. Elwell told the committee the grant would pay for a little over half of the cost of the positions during the grant's active years.
Why it matters: City officials said the positions were already part of the department's staffing plan and that the SAFER award accelerates progress toward full operational staffing. Committee members also noted that the timing coincides with the commissioning of the city's first city‑owned fire station and that the department had recent academy graduates and candidates ready to enter training.
Details and next steps: Elwell said the grant's schedule spans FY2026 through FY2029 on the packet charts because the federal grant dates do not align with the city's fiscal year, producing a four‑year breakout. The city will include its required local match in an upcoming budget amendment or supplemental appropriation. The committee moved and seconded forwarding the resolution to full council; the motion carried on a voice vote.
Officials said the department plans to fold the SAFER hires into the academy already planned, with most recruits entering training once council acceptance and budget actions are complete.
