PRESENTER: Presenter
Jennifer Gates, Grants Coordinator
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of an amendment to the FY 2024 Budget - Grant Fund.
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DEPARTMENT: Finance
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
After a highly competitive process, the City of New Braunfels received a grant in September 2023 from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program administered by the Grant Programs Directorate office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an agency of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security. SAFER funds are to be used to increase the number of an agency’s firefighters thereby enhancing the safety in fire and fire-related hazards for the public and firefighters.
The purpose of the SAFER Grant Program is to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing, thereby providing adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments. The awarded grant will provide a total of $3,423,384 in Federal funding for the salary and fringe benefit costs for 12 new Firefighters until January 2027. There is no City match requirement for the grant. Therefore, there is a net-zero impact on City funds.
Nine new Firefighter positions were approved in the FY 2024 Proposed Budget for the New Braunfels Fire Department on September 25, 2023, and then on January 22, 2024, City Council approved an increase to the Strength of Force to include another 10 Firefighters, for a total of 19 out of 21 possible positions added to the FY 2024 Adopted Budget.
Funding for 12 Firefighters will be provided by the SAFER grant, to assist in adequate staffing for Fire Station 7 that will open and begin operating in March 2024. The grant amount is $1,077,715 for Year 1, $1,153,278 for Year 2, and $1,192,391 for Year 3.
Due to the timing of the application process, City staff was unable to incorporate the SAFER grant funding into the City’s FY 2024 Proposed Budget. Therefore, an amendment is required to add the Year 1 grant funding to the FY 2024 Budget; funding for Years 2 and 3 will be included within upcoming annual City budgets as applicable.
The following budget amendment to the City’s FY 2024 Budget is recommended for City Council consideration.
Budget Amendment - Grant Fund
Increase Revenue
• Federal: $1,077,715
Increase Expenditures
• FY 2022 SAFER Grant - Salaries: $750,982
• FY 2022 SAFER Grant - Fringe Benefits: $326,733
ISSUE:
The proposed budget amendment supports the City’s Strategic Priorities as follows:
Maintain fiscal stability of City operations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The granting agency will provide funds for 100% of salary and fringe benefit costs for 12 Firefighters; there is no City-match requirement.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of an amendment to the FY 2024 Budget - Grant Fund.