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Fire Department Funding
Your local fire department funding has mostly been from the local, state, and federal taxes as part of the budgets where they are located. When a need has arisen in the past, the raising of taxes has been the only solution in most cases. The deciding factor on this method of raising funds has been with the voters.
Most municipalities have to place a tax increase on the ballot during election times. If the measure is voted down, then the increase in funding will not occur. The need of the emergency personnel, immaterial of its importance, will then not be met.
As an alternate to tax increases approved by the local constituents, many firefighters and emergency personnel hold fund raisers. Since 9/11, the most successful fund raiser for these emergency workers has been the Backstoppers Fund Raising events. This has been a source of revenue, though it is not a reliable one. With thousands of worthy charitable organizations, the competition for funds from private citizens is fierce.
The only way to fill this gap in funding is to have a source of large cash that is readily available to those that need it the most. After the cowardly act on the Twin Towers in New York, the federal government finally had the right motivation to fill this long overdue gap.
Since 2001, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) has been supplying the local and region fire departments with the necessary revenue to bring their equipment and training of their personnel to a state of readiness necessary to meet the challenges they face on a regular basis.
For the year 2010, there is $390 million available for the sole purpose of getting the local fire departments and emergency personnel what they need to safely face the challenges of their jobs. The deadline for submitting applications to this federal program is May 28, 2010, at 8 pm ET.
If your local fire department funding is falling short of filling all the necessary needs of your department, then now is the time to submit your application. If you miss this deadline, then you will have to wait another 11 months until applications will be accepted again.
Do contact the sponsors of this blog, Ward Diesel, and they will help you with the AFG Firefighters Grant Application.
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