FW: SAFER Grant: Differences in the FY 2007 Grant Guidance

[Guest guest]

FYI for our fire fighting friends. Barry

Barry Sharp, MSHP, CHES

Program Coordinator

Tobacco Prevention & Control

Texas Dept. of State Health Services

Barry.Sharp@...

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SAFER Grant: Differences in the FY 2007 Grant Guidance

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IAFC MEMBER ALERT: FOR IMMEDIATE REVIEW

Contact: IAFC Government Relations Department

* www.iafc.org

SAFER Grant: Differences in the FY 2007 Grant Guidance

Fire Chiefs Urged to Apply for SAFER Grant and Contact

Members of Congress in August

Fairfax, Va., Aug. 9, 2007... The deadline for submitting applications

for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants

is 5 pm EDT on August 31, 2007. The IAFC encourages all of its eligible

members to apply.

Created by Congress in 2003, the SAFER Grants are meant to help

communities with career, volunteer and combination fire departments

" increase their cadre of frontline firefighters ... in order to respond

to emergencies whenever they occur, assuring that their communities have

adequate protection for fire and fire-related hazards. "

For fiscal year 2007, Congress appropriated $115 million to DHS for the

SAFER Grant program. There are two eligible activities under the

program: hiring firefighters as part of a five-year matching grant

program and developing a program to recruit and retain volunteer

firefighters. According to the authorizing legislation, DHS will set

aside 10 percent of the funding for hiring firefighters for volunteer

and mostly volunteer departments and at least 10 percent for the

recruitment and retention of volunteers.

Full Program Guidance Available Online

The SAFER Grant program guidance is available on the DHS website at

www.firegrantsupport.com/docs/2007SAFERguidance.pdf.

In addition, a program application tutorial and list of frequently asked

questions are available at www.firegrantsupport.com/safer/.

The IAFC urges all applicants to read the program guidance in full and

to take advantage of the helpful tutorial. The program guidance provides

clear instructions on how to submit each type of application and what to

include in it. It also discusses factors that will improve an

applicant's chances of receiving a grant.

Differences in the FY 2007 SAFER Grant Guidance

In many ways, the FY 2007 grant guidance is similar to the FY 2006 grant

guidance (Go to IAFC summary online

<http://www.iafc.org/displayindustryarticle.cfm?articlenbr=30304> ).

There are a few changes from FY 2006:

* The use of grant funds for the Recruitment and Retention of

Volunteer Firefighters Activity has been clarified. Fire departments

cannot give cash payments directly to members for participation in

activities other than those linked to eligible services. Stipends, such

as pay-per-call, and payments of lost wages resulting from attending

training or operational services are eligible if they are supported by

formal personnel policies and are part of the grantee's benefits

package. Contributions to individual members' retirement accounts are

eligible if they are part of a grantee's benefits package and are

supported by formal personnel policies. Incentives for retention cannot

be retroactive.

* Ineligible uses of funds under the Recruitment and Retention of

Volunteer Firefighters Activity include cash payments for years of

service or membership and payment for travel for pleasure. In addition,

costs associated with award banquets, such as food, facilities and

entertainment, are not eligible. However, costs for non-cash awards are

eligible.

* Personal protective clothing, firefighting equipment and the

costs for providing training to the firefighter minimum-staffing level

are not eligible. In addition, operational activities will not be funded

by the SAFER grant program. However, applicants receiving SAFER grants

will receive priority consideration in applying for funding under

subsequent cycles of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (also known as

the " FIRE Grant " ) program, especially if the FIRE Grant applications

focus on personal protective clothing, wellness and fitness, and

training.

* Applicants seeking funding for the Recruitment and Retention of

Volunteer Firefighters Activity will be able to apply for both regional

initiatives and activities specifically targeted for their internal

needs. Applicants applying for both regional and internal needs should

combine their requests into one application and clearly define which

activities are regional and which are internal.

Opportunity to Contact Your Member of Congress at Home

The IAFC encourages its members to contact their U.S. senators and

representatives during the congressional August recess to talk about

fire-service issues. You can either visit your members of Congress at

their offices, or invite them to your fire department to let them meet

your personnel and see your apparatus and equipment.

For the latest information on the IAFC's legislative priorities,

download the " Hot Sheet and Issues Discussion " on the IAFC's government

relations legislative action alert

<http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=9> page.

We ask you to discuss the following issues with your senators and

representatives:

* Support $570 million and $230 million, respectively, for the

FIRE and SAFER Grant programs.

* Support $43.3 million for the U.S. Fire Administration, with an

additional $1 million to modernize the National Fire Incident Reporting

System (NFIRS).

* Ask Congress to investigate the delay in granting the assistance

under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program to the

families of firefighters who died of heart attacks and strokes.

* Cosponsor the Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job

Protection Act (H.R. 1643), which will prevent employers from firing or

demoting volunteer firefighters formally deployed for a maximum of 14

days to Stafford Act-defined emergencies or major disasters.

* Cosponsor the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (H.R.

943 and S. 1466) to protect incentives given to volunteer firefighters

from federal taxation.

* Cosponsor the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2007 (H.R. 1742

and S. 582), which will provide economic incentives to building owners

to retrofit their buildings with fire sprinklers.

To find contact information for your federal legislators, visit the U.S.

House of Representatives' website at www.house.gov (where you can type

in your zip code to find your legislator) and the U.S. Senate website at

www.senate.gov. Those sites will have contact information for the

legislators' district offices.

The IAFC recommends that you also learn about your legislators on their

websites, finding out such information as what committees they sit on,

their opinions on first-responder issues and whether they hold any

leadership positions. For example, if your senator sits on the Senate

Finance Committee, he or she could be helpful with the issues of tax

incentives for fire sprinklers or for federal taxation of volunteer

incentives. Members of the appropriations committees can be particularly

helpful with funding for the FIRE and SAFER Grant programs. Those in

leadership positions, such as committee chairs or party leaders, are

particularly influential.

If you haven't met with your federal legislators before, the IAFC

recommends you use this opportunity not just to have one or two

meetings, but also to start building long-term relationships. To help

you get started, the IAFC has created a primer on building and

maintaining relationships with your members of Congress, which IAFC

members can access on the Members-Only Documents

<http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1 & subarticlenbr=21> webpage.

If you have questions, the IAFC's government relations staff is here to

help. They can be reached at .

-end-

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