Common Council Authorizes Agreement With TenKate Grant Services For FEMA Grant Applications For Fire Department

The City of Cortland Common Council voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Scott Steve to enter into an agreement with TenKate Grant Services in the amount of $4,000. Under the agreement, TenKate will write two Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighter Grants for the City of Cortland Fire Department. Those two grant applications will be for the 2024 SAFER Hiring Grant for Personnel and the 2024 Fire Prevention & Safety Grant for Extinguisher Prop; TenKate has provided a $1,000 discount for the service.

The City of Cortland Fire Department has had proven success with the assistance of TenKate Grant Service in being awarded grants towards the fire department. Cortland Fire Chief Wayne Friedman says the department is finishing a grant currently in the amount of $50,000 for the purchase of new hoses for the department TenKate had written.

Chief Friedman provided an overview of the two grants TenKate Services will assist in writing. The first will be a fire safety grant for a fire extinguisher training unit. Friedman says the department’s current one is 15 years old and is well past its useful life. The training unit is used for fire prevention details and is also provided to those who need fire extinguisher training in their respective facility. If awarded by FEMA, the city will be required to provide a 5% match to the cost of a new fire extinguisher training unit at a total cost of $12,975.75 with the local match being $648.75 of the total cost.

The second grant application, the SAFER Hiring Grant, Chief Friedman says it is specific to personnel with a total award of $1,318,587 over a three year period. The funding will allow the department to hire and train 5 additional firefighters. Friedman added this is critical as he noted there are about 6 to 8 current members of the Cortland Fire Department who will retire in the next year or year and a half.

“What this can do is get us over that hump by getting people on, getting them trained and hopefully as retirees go out, we’ll cutdown on overtime costs. We will be able to have people trained and we’ll be able to move forward.” Friedman said to the Common Council.

The grant, if awarded, will provide a match of 75% for the first two years and 35% in the third year. Friedman says after the third year the cost of retaining the firefighters will be on the city, but noted there is no obligation from the grant the city must. He continued on to say the ultimate goal for the department is to reduce costs and to get the department’s retirees moving through quicker. With TenKate working on the grant applications, Friedman says he is very optimistic.