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Wednesday's Internet Edition, January 07, 2009.
CSD to hire three Galt firefighters
FEMA grant is funding hire
By Cameron Macdonald
Staff Writer
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The Cosumnes Community Services District (CSD) will use a $316,000 federal grant to help hire three more firefighters to work in a rescue company at a Galt station.
The CSD board approved the plan during their April 2 meeting.
“This is more than a win, this is actually part of the overall plan for public safety,” CSD Fire Chief Steve Foster said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded the five-year grant to the district last February.
The funding will cover a third of the firefighters’ salaries and benefits during the grant’s first year, according to a CSD staff report. There will be a $113,850 payment during that first year and lesser money in subsequent years.
The CSD’s general fund would cover the difference that would amount to $245,000 in the first year and gradual increases each year, ending with $375,000 during the 2011-12 fiscal year.
The interest in adding more firefighters is based on the CSD’s staffing model of having four firefighters operate a special rescue apparatus.
The CSD’s Station 45 in Galt currently has three rescue engineer staff members, and the grant aims to fill that gap on each of the three work shifts. They would then provide greater coverage for the district’s southern area while two other stations could cover the north and central areas, Foster said.
“We’re in the process of that strategic plan currently,” he said.
Plans are to later add another ladder truck to a Galt station.
The CSD fire station plans to hire all three firefighters by May 22 since the FEMA grant calls for such hiring within 90 days.
“It’s an extremely aggressive timeline based on the parameters of the grant itself,” CSD management analyst John Ebner said.
These recruits would then begin fire academy training in May and begin working for the district in October.
A new rescue fire engine was recently purchased for Station 45.
CSD director Gil Albiani spoke of fire academy costs and asked about the possibility of training a group of firefighters in the academy instead of just three.
He said that the main three would be hired for the Galt station while the rest could not be promised a CSD job, but would be considered to replace retiring firefighters.
Foster said that the FEMA grant specifically calls for the training and hiring of three firefighters and noted that to train cadets without guaranteeing them employment would be very difficult on them.
He later said that retirements are not anticipated this year, but some may be expected next year.
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