CIRCLEVILLE – City of Circleville is aiming at a grant that would provide more service to the community adding up to six new firefighters during the period of the grant.
The grant called Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) is a 350,000 dollar grant over a 36 month period. The grant would pay for 100% of the salary for these firefighters. The city would only have to pay for Firefighter equipment and an 80 hour training period for new hires that would be performed by a staff trainer that was not covered under the grant.
According to Chief Thompson this could bring staffing levels at 10 full time firefighters per day.
At the end of the grant period the city says that they could reapply for more grant monies or look how funding would cover the new additional firefighters. Even layoff could happen but these new employees would be told that that is a possibility during hire.
When Chief Thompson took the job in 2019 staffing levels were understaffed and many firefighters were working overtime to cover. Thompson says now that the levy was passed by the citizens they are at minimum staffing and morale is better.
“This is a way to get even more coverage to the City of Circleville,” Thompson said, “The levy staffed us to basic levels but this could offer the City of Circleville more and not cost them.”
During last nights council meeting Council passed the ordnance for the public safety director to enter an agreement with Ohio First responders grant LLC to prepare a grant on its first reading unanimously. It will have three readings before it is passed.
