Forsyth County may forego federal grant for fire department

CUMMING - The Forsyth County Fire Department admits to being a bit short-staffed right now, but Captain Jason Shivers says despite that fact, the chief is recommending turning down the federal government's offer for a staffing grant.

Capt. Shivers noted that accepting the so-called SAFER (Staffing Adequately of Fire and Emergency Response) grant would require a financial committment that the county likely could not meet based on the current economic environment.

"This grant comes with a number of strings attached that Forsyth County would be responsible for," he said.

First, the county would have to fill 10 vacant positions that exist because the county does not have money to fill those jobs. Once the fire department is fully staffed, then the grant would provide for 18 additional positions. The county would be obligated to partially fund those jobs for four years and then take on full funding for the positions in the fifth year. In addition, the county would be responsible for reporting to the federal government on the status of those 18 positions during the five-year grant period.

Shivers said that even though the fire department is not fully staffed, they are operating safely.

"We are short-handed," admitted Shivers, "but every fire department in metro Atlanta is. It's just an unfortunate sign of the times. We're still operating safely. We just bring in extra manpower to individual fire scenes when necessary."

The county commission tabled the matter until its May meeting, hoping to get a better picture of tax collections and economic projections over the next two months.