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Select Board recommends accepting competitive SAFER grant to add firefighter per shift after debate over timing and costs
Summary
Town officials recommended Article 19 to accept a three-year SAFER grant that adds a fourth firefighter per shift while board members probed long-term costs and timing; the fire chief described operational risks from current staffing and building conditions and argued the grant is a rare opportunity to offset ongoing staffing needs.
The Plymouth Select Board recommended that the town accept a competitive three-year SAFER grant (Article 19) that would fund additional firefighter/EMS positions, effectively adding a fourth firefighter on each shift while the grant is in effect.
Fire Chief (speaker 8) framed the grant as a rare competitive opportunity that took years to obtain and said it would materially improve response capacity, reduce missed calls and allow the department to take more mutual-aid and hospital-transfer work that otherwise the town declines. The chief described long-standing deficiencies at the fire station—rotted metal walls, rodents in bunker gear, repeated electrical problems and no modern suppression system—and said the department is operating with fewer apparatus and volunteers than in prior years.
Chief remarks included operational data: he said the department had 464 simultaneous call events last year and that the town failed to answer 48 emergency ambulance calls within Plymouth (roughly 75 total calls requiring mutual aid when combined with other events); staff estimated those missed responses cost the department about $77,000 in unrealized ambulance-revenue opportunities. The chief and staff said the SAFER grant covers a large portion of staffing for the first two years, a reduced share in year three, and that year four would be the town's responsibility; staff presented an approximate multi-year town cost projection (discussed in the hearing as roughly $511,700 under current assumptions) while cautioning numbers are estimates.
Board members debated whether timing was right given other budget increases this year (union contract increases, proposed capital projects and the proposed land purchase). Some members said adding firefighters had been phased in over prior years and they were hesitant to add more long-term obligations now; other members said failing to accept the grant would forgo a competitive funding opportunity and likely increase long-term costs.
After extended discussion the board voted to recommend Article 19. The recommendation will allow the article to appear on the warrant; final acceptance and the decision to hire positions will depend on grant award terms and later budget-year decisions for year-four baseline funding.
Implementation note: staff said the SAFER grant requires maintaining staffing levels for the three grant years and that failure to maintain year-two or year-three levels could require returning funds; the board and chief noted they are pursuing ways to offset future year costs through billing, regional contracts and other revenue sources.
