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Urbana committee moves to rescind prior acceptance of FY24 FEMA firefighters grant, send resolution to full council

Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole · February 17, 2026

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Summary

The Committee of the Whole forwarded Resolution 2026-02-008R to full City Council to rescind Resolution 2025-10-079R and revoke authorization to accept the FY24 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant, citing concerns about unstable or contradictory federal terms; council said it remains committed to obtaining radios through local funding if necessary.

The Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole voted Feb. 16 to send to full City Council a resolution (No. 2026-02-008R) that would rescind Resolution 2025-10-079R and revoke city authorization to accept the fiscal year 2024 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant.

City legal counsel described the item as a housekeeping measure intended to align the formal legislative record with subsequent budget actions and staff behavior. Council members said they are rejecting the federal grant at this time because of what they characterized as unstable or contradictory terms contained in the grant acceptance language.

Several council members emphasized that rejecting the grant does not mean the city will forgo needed equipment. One council member said the council is "committed to getting them those radios at some point" and other members urged a budget amendment or local funding to ensure the fire department obtains handheld radios.

Council debated the tension between a simple-majority acceptance of the grant and a supermajority requirement for budget amendments. Legal counsel noted that while having conflicting actions in the record is messy, the legal risk is relatively low though not zero if a public employee acted outside authority.

Grace moved approval of Resolution 2026-02-008R and Mary Alice seconded. The committee voted to send the resolution to the full City Council; the chair called for 'aye' and declared the motion passed unanimously. The meeting record does not include an itemized roll-call vote tally in the transcript; the committee recorded the result as unanimous in the proceeding.

Next procedural steps: the resolution will appear on a future City Council agenda for final action. Council members asked staff to consider a local budget amendment to secure radios for the fire department if the grant is not accepted.