| Rolla Fire Department takes a hit at City Council Meeting |
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| Written by Shishir Jai | |
 The Rolla Fire Department took a setback at this Monday’s City Council meeting. The dwindling sales tax revenue may leave the city unable to take advantage of a Federal grant, as it requires Rolla pay incrementally more each year.Two weeks ago when Rolla Fire Chief Robert Williams learned his department was the recipient of a $632,550 federal grant, he was very excited, calling it “the best news I’ve had all year.” The grant, announced by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau), specifies the city add six new firefighters with the city taking on the added fiscal responsibility for the next six years. The grant increases the Fire Department’s staffing during the six-year period, with the City of Rolla paying 10 percent of the cost for six new firefighters the first year. The second year, Rolla pays 20 percent; the third year, 30 percent; the fourth year, 50 percent; and the sixth, and final year, Rolla pays 100 percent of the cost of the six firefighters. In addition, Rolla will pay the full cost of those firefighters every year after that. While appreciative of the grant, City Administrator John Butz said taking advantage of the grant might be beyond the city’s current fiscal capabilities. “The challenge with any grant is meeting the level of standards imposed by the grant,” Butz said. “We have to be fiscally responsible, so we’ll have to weigh those options with the reality of the current fiscal situation.” City leaders figured a three percent increase in sales tax revenue. Through six months of the fiscal year, sales-tax revenue is down 0.86 percent, or less than one percent from a year ago, a fact not wasted on Butz. “In essence, we’re seeing a four percent drop in our sales-tax revenue, and this is something the City Council will discuss during our mid-session budget review period,” Butz said. Butz said he did not foresee cuts in city workers, but said city projects could be scaled back or put off. “There will be cuts. We can’t spend it if we don’t have it. Now, I don’t think that means we’ll cut funds in employment, but we will in equipment purchases.” Meanwhile, Chief Williams understands the city can’t spend money it doesn’t have, but he hates to see an opportunity to improve fire service missed. “We’re going to need it,” Williams said. “It’s like the old Fram oil filter commercial says, ‘You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.’ We’re going to need this. Now, we have the grant for it to cost the city less.” The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to assist in hiring extra firefighters. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant was awarded to two eighth district cities in Missouri: Rolla and Cape Girardeau. Cape Girardeau’s grant was for $316,275. Williams has promoted a new Rolla fire station on the south side of Rolla since 2001 when the results of a Fire Protection Study recommended that the Fire Department should respond to all residential fires in less than five minutes, with a minimum of 13 people. The Rolla Fire Department responds to fires in less than four minutes, 14 seconds, citywide; however, for areas south of Lanning Lane, the average response time is six minutes, 30 seconds. Moreover, the department responds to fires with an average of seven firefighters, six firefighters short of what the study recommended, Williams has previously stated. Williams submitted a draft of the Capital Improvement Plan to the City of Rolla that includes a plan for funding the new station and hiring additional firefighters. A proposal to increase sales taxes by a quarter-cent, in or around 2009, would fund the new fire station. |
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