Massachusetts Governor Releases $8.1. Million in Stimulus Funding to Rehire Fire Fighters

October 7, 2009 – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has announced he will release $8.1 million in federal stimulus funds to help municipal fire departments that have been forced to make layoffs and leave vacancies unfilled. The funds will be used to rehire 127 fire fighters who were laid off because of budget reductions.

The announcement marks the first round of awards to fire departments from the $20 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act discretionary funds the Patrick administration set aside specifically to help fire departments address staffing reductions caused by the current recession.

“A global economic collapse has hit cities and towns hard and forced communities to reduce fire fighter staffing levels,” said Governor Patrick. “These stimulus funds come at a critical time, and promise to bring immediate relief to 13 municipal fire departments and enhance local public safety. I thank the congressional delegation on their hard work to make these funds available so that cities and towns can better manage through to the better days ahead.”

In this first round of grant awards, $8.1 million will be used to rehire fire fighters in Bridgewater, Easton, Fall River, Hull, Lakeville, Lawrence, Methuen, Monson, New Bedford, North Attleboro, Quincy, Walpole and Worcester.

These recovery funds will provide much needed financial assistance to fire departments in municipalities across the state, which will result in bringing back lost jobs, retaining public safety services and helping to stimulate the local economy.

“We passed the Recovery Act to stop the economic bleeding and get workers back on their feet, and nothing is more important than rehiring fire fighters laid off because of slumping municipal budgets," said Senator John Kerry (D-MA). "We’re putting people back to work, keeping our communities safe and investing in our local economy. Governor Patrick has kept faith with our first responders and honored his commitment to put our fire fighters back on the job.”

By earmarking $20 million in federal stimulus funding for municipal fire departments, the governor is seeking to bolster staffing levels by allowing cities and towns to rehire as many laid-off fire fighters as possible, prevent further layoffs and address staffing reductions caused by attrition. This grant program also gives communities much needed flexibility in dealing with reduced public safety budgets.

Eighty-seven fire departments from across the state submitted applications to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security as part of the Patrick administration’s Fire Services Staffing Grant Program. The process of reviewing those applications and making grant decisions remains underway. The administration will be awarding another $11.9 million to communities that have seen their fire departments downsized as a result of budget cuts.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $210 million for local fire departments to support the renovation and construction of local fire stations, but does not specifically earmark any stimulus money to fire departments to bolster staffing or for programs that have been reduced or eliminated as a result of the current recession.

The announcement is on top of $45 million in previously committed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding going directly from the federal government to municipal police departments across the state.