On Monday, the Orlando City Council, led by Mayor Buddy Dyer, officially accepted a federal grant that will allow the City to retain 46 firefighters whose positions would have been eliminated due to budget cuts.
The funding is part of the federal government’s SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Program. The grant will cover the firefighter’s salaries and benefits for a two-year period with no matching funds required.
“This will ensure that our residents and visitors continue to benefit from a level of protection that is second-to-none in America,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Securing this grant took a collaborative, bipartisan effort from Central Florida’s elected leaders.”
The elected officials who supported the grant are: U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator George S. LeMieux, U.S Representative Corrine Brown, U.S. Representative Alan Grayson, and U.S. Rep Suzanne M. Kosmas.
The SAFER grant is expected to be distributed to the City of Orlando later this year.
