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Board defers decision on SAFER grant hiring; chief says carryover funds may help
Summary
Southington officials discussed a federal SAFER grant that would add 12 firefighters and an earlier‑than‑budgeted assistant fire chief; the board asked the fire department and staff to return in July with precise monthly costs and funding options, and a resident requested detailed call data before expansion.
Town officials discussed the prospect of expanding the fire department under a SAFER grant that would fund 12 firefighter positions, and whether the town could accelerate hiring of an assistant fire chief for three months before the position’s budgeted start date.
A board member summarized the request: the SAFER grant was expected to cover a portion of hiring costs but the town council asked the Board of Finance to examine funding options if the town needed to fund early months of the assistant chief’s salary. Board members asked for per‑month salary estimates and where the town would locate the funds; one member said the salary would be about $11,000 per month and three months would amount to roughly $35,000.
Southington’s Fire Chief said he expected "about $140,000 coming back to the town from our budget from this year" as carryforward funds and was exploring purchase orders to close out that might free additional dollars. "I think there will be some funds available," the chief said, while noting the figure was not guaranteed.
Several finance members said they preferred to defer action until the new fiscal year and recommended the fire department provide a full packet of numbers for a July discussion. The board agreed to accept a PowerPoint and materials for review before the next meeting.
At public comment, resident Brian Tes urged the town to produce EMS/fire call records and utilization data before expanding staffing under a grant, argued the long‑term cost to the town after grant funding ends could be large, and asked how to submit a formal information request; the town manager committed to providing the fire‑department data.
What’s next: fire and finance staff will prepare detailed cost estimates, including monthly salary figures, potential funding sources and grant offsets, for the July workshop. The SAFER proposal was not voted on at the June meeting.
