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Plymouth Select Board accepts $787,944 FEMA SAFER grant, will ask voters to fund local match
Summary
The Select Board voted to accept a $787,944.40 FEMA SAFER grant to hire additional career firefighters and amended the acceptance to include placing a warrant article on the March town meeting ballot to approve the town’s share of implementation costs in future years.
The Plymouth Select Board voted to accept an award of $787,944.40 from FEMA’s SAFER grant program to hire additional career firefighters and amended the motion to place a warrant article on the March town meeting ballot for voter approval of the town’s local share.
The grant was presented at a public hearing as a competitive award the town had pursued for five years. Kevin, the town’s fire chief, told the board Plymouth was the only department in New Hampshire to receive the 2024 award and said the money would let the department increase staffing toward recommended levels. “This grant is extremely competitive… Plymouth is the only one in New Hampshire that has received it for the 2024 grant,” Kevin said, adding that the funding would help reduce response-time strain and firefighter burnout.
Why it matters: Plymouth’s fire and EMS workload has risen sharply, officials said. Staff presented call-volume data showing recent multi-call events and sustained growth in EMS and fire responses. Accepting the grant obligates the town to cover a local funding share in later years; staff estimated an offsetting town cost of roughly $106,000 in year one with larger amounts in subsequent budget years. The board amended the acceptance motion so that implementation funding would be decided at the March town meeting by voters.
Supporting details: Fire department testimony cited call-volume comparisons and staffing ratios to neighboring communities, arguing that adding positions would reduce per-firefighter call loads and help retain personnel. Department staff and consultants said acceptances of SAFER awards typically require local budgeting in later years; staff advised placing the appropriation on the March warrant to allow voter approval prior to hiring.
Board action and next steps: The board voted to accept the grant and to submit a warrant article for the March town meeting that would provide the legal appropriation for implementation if voters approve. Staff said they would prepare the warrant language and begin recruitment planning timed to the town meeting outcome.
The motion carried; board members recorded assent and the grant acceptance will move forward with the planned warrant article for voter consideration.
