— Moses Lake, WA
The MLFD has recently received a grant to help fund three new positions.
The United States’ Department of Homeland Security, and the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, awarded the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, providing about 75 percent of the total cost of wages and benefits for the first two years of the program, with an additional 25% for a third year with benefits.
In 2016, the city of Moses Lake conducted a study looking at cost of service study for the local fire department, this was in part to evaluate the department’s current and future personnel needs. The study recommended that six new firefighter positions had to be created. The city was able to fund only three of the six needed positions in 2019 and the new awarded grant will allow the city of ML to hire three more firefighters.
The city of ML will need to budget about $90,000 to cover matching costs in 2020 and 2021. The grant will provide around $480,000 in funding for the first two years, and $75,000 for the third year of the program.