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Mahtomedi council agrees to seek FEMA SAFER grant to fund six firefighters
Summary
Mahtomedi councilors gave consensus to apply for a FEMA SAFER grant to add six full‑time firefighters; staff estimated one firefighter costs about $150,000 per year and projected tax‑rate impacts if positions continue after grant funding ends.
The Mahtomedi City Council workshop on May 19 focused on fire department staffing and a plan to pursue federal grant funding to add personnel.
City Administrator Scott Neilson introduced Fire Chief Joel Schmidt, who reviewed department coverage, said calls in 2026 are up about 40 from the same time last year, and recommended applying for a FEMA SAFER grant to hire six full‑time firefighter/paramedics. Chief Schmidt told the council the SAFER grant would fund roughly 75% of personnel costs in the first year and about 35% by the third year if Mahtomedi is awarded funding.
Finance Director Scott Schaefer provided preliminary cost estimates, saying the annual cost of one full‑time firefighter/paramedic is approximately $150,000. Using those figures, Schaefer projected that adding six full‑time positions would push the projected tax rate to about 51.478% in 2030; he added the projected tax rate for 2029 using grant funds for the six positions would be about 49.423%.
Council members discussed operational and logistical issues tied to hiring. City Administrator Neilson noted that while the city’s new fire building is under construction, personnel may be temporarily relocated to public works, and that adding six hires could complicate space and logistics. Chief Schmidt said the firm OPN had used sleeping bedroom trailers on a previous project as one mitigation option.
When Mayor Richard Brainerd asked how quickly hires could be on board, Chief Schmidt estimated the department could recruit and have staff on board by spring 2027 and noted the SAFER grant requires that personnel be hired during the first year of funding. The council reached consensus to include six positions in the SAFER grant application and to proceed with applying; no formal hiring vote was recorded at the workshop.
The meeting closed with routine procedural business; council members approved the agenda at the start of the workshop and adjourned at 6:58 p.m.
Next steps: staff will prepare and submit the FEMA SAFER grant application for six positions and return to council with any formal staffing or budget requests if the city is offered funding.
