Watertown City Council Approves SAFER Grant Application for Emergency Response Expansion
- Steve Jurrens
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council has given the green light to a proactive expansion plan for the city’s emergency response services, though not without an intense look at long-term fiscal liabilities. On Monday evening, city leaders voted to authorize Watertown Fire Rescue to apply for the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. If awarded, the grant will fund up to nine new firefighter-paramedic positions over the next three safer grant cycles, onboarding three new recruits per year.
While the short-term addition of federal funds features a subsidized cost-share structure, council members pushed for clarity on how the city intends to finance the sustained “run rate” of a growing department down the line.
The Push for NFPA Safety Standards
Fire Chief Don Rowland presented the critical safety data driving the department’s request, referencing standard National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 deployment metrics. Under these guidelines, a department must deploy an initial full alarm assignment of 15 personnel to a fire incident scene within a 9-minute window.
“Unfortunately, over the years, we haven’t been able to meet that standard for quite some time,” Chief Rowland admitted to the council. “And I don’t see it going forward yet for a little bit more. So it’s just a matter of time that we get down that direction.”
Beyond fire scenes, Rowland pointed to a standard 4% to 5% annual growth in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) call volumes. This compounding demand has pushed department overtime expenditures to an all-time high, necessitating a forthcoming budget supplement at the end of the year just to cover basic baseline staffing shifts. The primary goal of the targeted 9-position expansion is to staff a planned Eastside Fire Station, increase frontline apparatus coverage, and ensure compliance with federal OSHA safety rules.
Weighing the Federal Subsidy vs. The Long-Term Hook
The financial mechanics of the SAFER grant offer a sliding cost-share scale designed to ease local governments into permanent hiring. Under the proposed funding model:
· Year 1: The city is responsible for a 25% match, translating to roughly $60,000.
· Year 2: The local match remains at 25%, calculated at $62,370.
· Year 3: The city’s burden jumps significantly to a 65% cost share, requiring an estimated $175,000 local investment.
Councilman Dan Schutte initially questioned the timing of the authorization, highlighting the fact that the actual physical Eastside Fire Station has not yet been constructed. “To me, it seems premature without having the plan to move forward with staffing in three years, not having the Eastside fire station built,” Schutte observed, asking for a transparent look at what happens when federal support expires.
Chief Rowland responded that the department’s sustained operational run rate would eventually hit a projected $750,000 to $800,000 annually once all nine personnel are incorporated alongside a functioning third station.
City Manager Alan Stager urged the council to capture the federal funding window while it remains wide open, noting that ignoring the opportunity guarantees zero relief for an already strained local staff.
“I’d leave you with this thought,” Stager remarked. “If we don’t apply for this grant, there’s a 100% probability that we will get nothing. If we do apply, there is some probability that we might get something, but nothing is assured.”
Stager stressed that municipal emergency services across South Dakota are struggling because operational growth continues to outpace localized sales tax revenues. He noted that the timeline to solve these structural funding issues with state legislators aligns precisely with the upcoming three-year grant cycle. Furthermore, Stager clarified that if natural turnover or retirements occur within the department, the grant funding can be dynamically applied to existing open vacancies without artificially forcing rapid expansion beyond the city’s financial capabilities.
Council Action
Reassured by the strategic built-in guardrails, Councilman Schutte voiced his support based on administrative alignment. “We base our voting based on, OK, we’re trusting that the city manager is properly navigating through these conversations,” Schutte noted. “So I guess in faith I’m going to trust on that one tonight.”
Following a motion by Councilman Peters and a second by Councilman Heuer, the council passed the SAFER grant authorization via a unanimous roll-call vote. The application deadline is set for June 22, 2026, with official federal award notifications expected by late September.
