Leadership

N.J. Editorial: Grants a "Lousy Way" to Fund Public Safety

Dec. 25, 2013

The head of Atlantic City's fire union told the newspaper they are exploring ways to keep the staff when a SAFER grant expires in 2015.

Source The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J.

This editorial was written by the The Press of Atlantic City.

Dec. 24--Well, the good news is that 51 Atlantic City firefighters facing layoffs will stay on the job thanks to an extension of a federal grant.

And the bad news is ... that 51 Atlantic City firefighters facing layoffs will stay on the job thanks to an extension of a federal grant.

It is, of course, welcome news that the Atlantic City Fire Department will not have to go through with the layoffs, which would have amounted to 20 percent of the department. Welcome news for the firefighters themselves. And welcome news for the city, which, if the grant extension had not been approved, would have had to close three of the department's 11 fire companies each shift.

But the larger problem remains: Grants are a lousy way to fund police and fire departments. Atlantic City, which is facing a tremendous budget hole thanks to casino tax reassessments, had no choice here. But still, this $8.7 million grant extension will expire in two years, just as the initial 2011 $9.7 million grant expired. Then what?

The head of the city's firefighters union told staff writer Lynda Cohen that the city is considering its options for when the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant expires in 2015. Mayor-elect Don Guardian has said he would like to see the city set aside funds to pay the firefighters once the grant expires -- but that's easier said than done.

This all started in Atlantic City in 2010 when budget cuts forced the layoffs of 30 firefighters. The initial SAFER grant allowed the city to return the laid-off firefighters to the job and to hire more.

But that grant expired in May. There was leftover money in the account, so the city had enough to fund the department until November. Then it got another extension, then it used money from the overtime account and dipped into next year's budget to keep the full complement of firefighters on the job. And then, last week, the new $8.7 million in federal money was approved.

This is no way to run a city.

Everyone knows that, of course. And this is not intended as criticism. Fire Chief Dennis Brooks did what he had to do to keep his men on the job.

But the city has to address this problem long-term. And the answer may well be changes that firefighters and their union won't like. But they, like everyone who works for the city of Atlantic City, will have to understand that the city is deep in an unprecedented financial hole. And givebacks -- changes in the benefits and/or the salary structure -- are going to have to be part of the solution. Because funding critical city services with temporary federal grant money is no solution at all.