City should seek means to accept vital fire grant

In these times of financial restraint and revenue shortfalls for local governments throughout the Mahoning Valley, cash-strapped communities can ill afford to look any gift horse in the mouth.

But that’s just what could happen in Youngstown as city leaders debate whether to accept a $400,000 federal grant to preserve a ladder truck with personnel to staff it at a vital South Side fire station. Rejection of that award and the loss of key firefighting protection for the city should be avoided at all costs.

In an ironic confluence of events last week, members of Youngstown City Council were preparing to discuss out-of-control levels of overtime spending in the fire department this year just as U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, announced the city had been awarded a $398,723 federal grant for the department.

In making the announcement last week, Ryan said, “This money will enhance fire prevention and overall safety to the Youngstown Fire Department. This crucial funding will prevent the department from having to decommission a fire truck.”

On its surface, it would appear the grant arrived just in the nick of time and it should be accepted with arms wide open. But deeper analysis reveals a few trouble spots that make its acceptance much more complicated and potentially problematic.

Like most public and private grant awards, this one, too, comes with strings attached, strings some city leaders believe Youngstown would have difficulty pulling.

Understaffing of the department this year has caused overtime spending to reach $225,000 so far with estimates of an additional $200,000 in OT for the remainder of 2017. That spending level far eclipses the $130,000 the city budgeted for overtime spending for the full year.

The grant also requires the department to maintain stable staffing levels through its three-year duration. Unfortunately, with little indication that city revenues will reverse course and show significant increases in the foreseeable future and with prospects of citywide layoffs looming large in 2018 and beyond, council members and administrators have urged caution.

As they study the predicament, we urge them to balance their dour fiscal realities with the compelling need to ensure maximum public safety for city residents and workers.

A prime consideration must be the value of restoring the fire department to full strength, which in turn could significantly cut those out-of-control overtime expenses.

Also, without the grant monies, plans had called for decommissioning the ladder truck at Fire Station No. 2 on West Indianola Avenue, along with some firefighters that operated it. Losing a ladder truck with its ability to easily and rapidly reach upper floors of burning structures would make our city noticeably less safe.

WORKLOAD, REPUTATION OF YFD

As Congressman Ryan also pointed out, the impending loss of that vital equipment “would have been detrimental to the force, given that Youngstown firefighters encounter eight times the amount of structure fires than those of any other major city in Ohio.”

We would add city firefighters have responded to that burdensome workload with speed and professionalism.

Last fall, in fact, the national Insurance Services Office elevated the quality of service provided by the YFD to the top 2 percent of nearly 50,000 such departments across the United States.

The department improved in all categories measured, with particularly strong gains in the quality of its equipment and in its response times. The loss of crucial equipment and manpower could only send that rating on a free fall.

That’s why we hope city leaders can balance preservation of the grant against the loss of less vital city services and expenditures.

Fire Chief John O’Neill says rejection of the grant would constitute “a major embarrassment.”

At a time when local governments are becoming increasingly reliant on outside sources for revenue, rejection also would give the city a less than stellar reputation should they seek future awards.

City leaders can avoid such embarrassment and stigma by developing a detailed plan to accept the grant without breaking their bank.