Published: May 15, 2008 04:00 am         

Fire department wants to hire 4

ONEONTA _ Oneonta Fire Chief Robert Barnes is seeking to add four firefighters to the department.

And, Barnes said Wednesday, he is hoping a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program will help the city pay for it.

The Common Council, in a reversal from previous years, voted unanimously last week to allow Barnes to apply for a FEMA "SAFER" grant, which partially funds the salaries of new firefighters.

Barnes said he would like to increase the firefighter staffing from 20 to 24 by adding one new firefighter to each of four shifts.

There are also four captains and an assistant chief. Eleven years ago, in 1997, there were 17 part-time and call firefighters. But by this year, that number had dwindled to eight.

Full-time staffing levels have not changed in the department in the last two decades, although the demand for services has risen steadily.

Under the terms of the grant, the city would be increasingly responsible for the cost of the firefighters: 10 percent in the first year; 20 percent in the second year; 50 percent in the third year; 70 percent in the fourth year; and 100 percent in the fifth year.

Mayor John Nader said the ultimate cost for the city would easily be in the seven-figure range, once benefits and other employee-related costs are included with salaries.

Barnes, who addressed a Board of Public Safety meeting last month with firefighters Ron Wamsley, Andy Turner, Mike Mancini and Jeff Pidgeon, won over all eight city aldermen, said Seventh Ward Alderman Lizabeth Shannon.

The SAFER grant is projected to cover a maximum of $421,700 over the five-year period, Shannon said.

"Although this amount will cover less than half of the expense of hiring and training new people, it will certainly help," Shannon said.

The Common Council last year only had two aldermen _ First Ward Alderman Maureen Hennessy and former Eighth Ward Alderman Patti Hanley _ who were in favor of the grant, Nader said.

The rest did not support the idea because of the financial burden it would place on the city once the grant ran out, he said.

"I think that was a concern that people had last year," Nader said.

But this year, the Common Council features five new members.

Concern about overtime costs are not a driving force behind Barnes' request, Nader said.

"We have not always found that adding staff reduces overtime," Nader said. "What very often happens is service expectations rise."

The driving focus is a concern that the fire department will not be able to keep pace with state and federally mandated safety and firefighting standards, said Second Ward Alderman Paul Robinson, who along with Fifth Ward Alderman Rodger Moran did not support the grant application last year.

This time, Barnes and the other firefighters made a compelling case for the new hires, Robinson said.

But how the city moves forward will be tied to whether the city receives the grant or not.

"If we don't get the grant, I can't see how we possibly could spend that much," Robinson said.

Nader said the financial impact of hiring four firefighters in conjunction with the SAFER grant has not been calculated.

If the city were to get the grant, the decision to create positions in the fire department would require further Common Council action, Nader said.

He said a full study of the financial implications would be conducted before that decision is made.