City Commissioners tackled how to pay for Fernandina Beach's essential services - the fire and police departments - that are short staffed, underfunded and personnel are being recruited away by neighboring departments.
During two city commission budget workshops last week, officials wrestled with how to fund both departments in the areas of new hires, competitive salaries and replacing equipment.
Fire Chief Ty Silcox had sought three additional firefighters/EMS in the proposed 2024-2025 budget. At the outset of the workshops, the city was banking on a federal SAFER grant to pay for the new personnel. But city officials said the likelihood of obtaining the grant was as low as five percent.
The Federal SAFER grant program, often referred to simply as "SAFER," stands for "Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response." It's a grant program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). SAFER grants are designed to help fire departments and other emergency response organizations improve their staffing levels and enhance their capabilities to respond effectively to emergencies.
"I don't think we have a great chance (of getting the grant)," said Commissioner Darron Ayscue, a Nassau County firefighter. "I think where you look at where these grants have been awarded, Florida hasn't done really well recently."
Police Chief Jeff Tambasco had requested three full time and three part time officers be added in the 2024-2025 budget. Currently the proposed budget funds only two full time officers.
"I think the police department is getting the short shift here," said Commissioner Chip Ross. "Currently there are only three police officers on the night shift in the city. That's totally inappropriate. We need more."
Ross also argued that pay raises for both police and fire staff should be the city's first funding priority.
"If we're not competitive, Nassau County is looking for 19 new fire/EMS people. Jacksonville is looking for 40 people. If we're not paying, where are they going to go?" Ross said. "I would support the people already here and work on retention."
The city should know in September if it will receive SAFER funding. Discussing the SAFER grant and the possibility of funding the firefighter positions in the budget, diminishes the possibility of obtaining the grant, warned both Interim City Manager Jeremish Glisson and Mayor Bradley Bean.
But commissioners pressed on with how to add three firefighters to the department.
"We've gotten to a point where we've been out discussing it (the SAFER grant) and it is what it is," Ayscue said.
He said funding the three firefighter positions would cost roughly $340,000 for the budget year.
"If we took it out of a contingency (fund) right after we find out we don't get the grant, $170,000 on April 1, you save half the money and still get the three positions," Ayscue said. "The chief then builds it into the budget for the next year. I'm trying to find the pathway forward for us to chase the grant, but also to look into the future so that we have an option to do this and put these positions on and a cost savings to fund them."
Ross countered that the "elephant in the room" was not raising public safety salaries.
"We need to pay our current staff more. If we had gone to the current millage rate we would have an additional $1.2 million," Ross said.
Ayscue maintained that with the addition of three firefighters next April, there would be a cost savings due to the reduction in overtime hours currently being logged.
"There's cost savings there that's continually budgeted because of short staff and how they're having to pay overtime. Putting those three positions on will free up some money that we could be putting into negotiations," Ayscue said.
Complicating the discussion are the ongoing firefighter's union contract negotiations with the city.
"Contracts most of the time are for three years. We have the ability to address some immediate issues in there. In years two and three we have the ability to say we can address the bigger problems in years two and three," Ayscue said.
Commissioner James Antun asked that if money from the contingency fund was used to pay for the firefighters, how would the city replenish the fund.
Glission said the proposed contingency fund was $600,000 and was not part of the state mandated city reserve fund. He said the fund is typically used for unforeseen expenses such as damage and cleanup for a storm or revenues that weren't planned on like the Ocean Highway and Port Authority settlement that will next the city $187,000 in the upcoming budget year.
During public comment, Richard Deem said the commission's plan to fund the firefighter positions for half a year beginning next April was sending a "bad signal to our firemen."
"We don't think enough of them that we're going to play these budgetary games and put it off until April," Deem said. "We find the money for a lot of things, we can find the money, let's do it now. The fire chief says this has been going on for three years, he's been short staffed. Let's do it now."
But Ayscue said the staffing issue was not at the breaking point.
"I don't think we're short changing them in the least little bit and I'll never stop fighting for them," Ayscue said.
The commission did not commit to pay raises, but indicated it would fund three firefighters for next April in the proposed budget.
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