Three local fire districts employing 19 firefighters with a combined $3 million in federal grants don’t expect to be touched by federal budget cuts.
The districts — Big Corkscrew, East Naples and Immokalee — have grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which the White House has said will have to reduce its grant funding.
“I don’t anticipate anything happening and I haven’t heard anything in the industry,” said East Naples Fire Chief Kingman Schuldt, whose district has a $1.7 million grant to hire and retain nine firefighters.
Rita Greenberg, chief of the Big Corkscrew and Immokalee districts, said Big Corkscrew’s $600,000 grant for four jobs won’t be touched because it ends in mid-March. Budget cuts and negotiations with firefighters will allow those four employees to remain on the job past March.
The effect on Immokalee’s $700,000 grant for six firefighters is less sure.
“I haven’t gotten any notice of negative impact on the Immokalee fire grant,” Greenberg said, “but I’m cautiously concerned.”
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