The Elgin City Council on Oct. 8 voted unanimously to accept a Federal Emergency Management Agency Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant worth just over $3,000,000 to fund hiring nine firefighter‑paramedics over three years and restore a sixth full‑time ambulance to the city's emergency medical services.

City staff told the council the SAFER award offsets most of the roughly $5,000,000 cost of the three‑year staffing plan, leaving the city responsible for about $2,000,000 during that three‑year period and then the full payroll costs thereafter. City officials said the grant-funded hires are intended to keep pace with a sustained rise in EMS demand: “about 77% of our call volume is EMS,” and the department now handles “a little over 16,000 calls a year,” officials said during the Committee of the Whole discussion.

Why it matters: Elgin officials said EMS call volume has risen significantly since 2012 and the department has relied more on mutual aid. The council discussion focused on the financial implications after the SAFER funding ends, on mutual‑aid relationships with neighboring South Elgin, and on the heavy staff effort required to win such a large award.

Details and council discussion: City staff explained the department removed a sixth ambulance from full‑time service in 2012 and that a recent analysis showed a sustained increase in EMS demand and a corresponding reliance on mutual aid. The restoration of a permanent sixth ambulance will require hiring nine full‑time firefighter‑paramedics. According to staff, FEMA’s SAFER grant covers the majority of the first three years’ cost via a stepped match (FEMA covering most of year one and two, less in year three), after which the city will absorb full payroll costs and cannot lay off SAFER‑funded employees during the three‑year grant term.

Assistant Chief Dan Rink and union members who assisted with the application described the submission as data‑heavy. “This was a very data heavy submission,” the manager said, crediting Assistant Chief Rink, Captain Mike Przybelski and Lieutenant Josh Smith for assembling the response data and narratives required by FEMA. Council members praised staff and the union for securing the funding and asked for ballpark legacy cost estimates; staff said the approved numbers are fixed for the grant but that legacy payroll after three years will rise with future collective bargaining increases.

Vote and next steps: The council approved the resolution accepting the SAFER grant 9‑0. Staff said they will implement the hiring plan under the grant terms and later transition the new positions onto the city payroll at the end of the three‑year SAFER period.

Ending: The Elgin Fire Department will proceed with the SAFER‑funded hiring and reinstate the sixth ambulance into daily service pending the planned multi‑year staffing transition.