Title
Approval of an Ordinance Appropriating $1,347,150 for a Downtown Emergency Response Unit Pilot
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve on second reading, an ordinance appropriating $1,347,150 from a FEMA grant for a pilot of a lower acuity emergency response unit to operate primarily in the downtown area.
Report
Issue:
Whether to appropriate $1,347,150 from a Staffing for Adequate Fire & Response (SAFER) Grant, which was accepted by the Council at its August 30, 2016 meeting.
Staff Contact:
Greg Wright, Deputy Fire Chief, 360.753.8466
Presenter(s):
None - Consent Calendar Item
Background and Analysis:
The City of Olympia has been awarded a grant for funding firefighter FTEs for a 24-month period to staff an Adaptive Response Unit. The Unit will respond primarily to the downtown including a number of lower acuity emergencies that are not time sensitive. The Unit will lessen the need for fire engines and ladder trucks to respond to these types of emergencies and preserve response times for fire units Citywide. The grant will reimburse for salary and benefits for six new firefighters. The City Council accepted the grant at its August 30, 2016, meeting.
The appropriation will fund this pilot program for two years. Finance will be accounting for this program separately from other activities within the Fire Department. The grant is being appropriated at this time so that the recruitment process can be started now assuring there will be staff available when the program begins in February 2017.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
None
Options:
1. Move to pass the Ordinance on first reading and move to second reading.
2. Make changes to the Ordinance and direct staff to prepare a new Ordinance.
3. Do not approve the Ordinance.
Financial Impact:
$1,347,150 to be provided by the US Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, over a 24-month...
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