Princeton City Council will decide Tuesday, Oct. 13, whether to keep or turn down a federal grant to hire six firefighters, after the Fire Department said the council approved the application based on inaccurate numbers.
The special meeting agenda lists a resolution that would repeal Resolution No. 2026-06-08-R06, adopted June 8, and rescind the city's authorization for its application to FEMA's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. The packet includes the application and FEMA's award letter.
What changed
In a memo to the council, Interim Fire Chief Steve Gammons wrote that the earlier approval rested on information the former fire chief presented, and that later information from FEMA identified inaccuracies in it. The department's presentation dates that original briefing to May 11.
According to the presentation, council was told the grant would pay 100% of the cost in the first year, 70% in the second and 50% in the third. The actual award covers 75% in each of the first two years and 35% in the third, leaving Princeton to pay 25%, then 25%, then 65%, plus protective gear in year one.
From the fourth year on, the city would carry the full cost of the six positions.
The department lists about $443,800 a year in salaries and about $179,300 in benefits, roughly $623,000 a year for the six firefighters. Using those figures, the city's share would be about $156,000 in each of the first two years and about $405,000 in the third. The presentation also notes the city spent $18,000 on a grant writer for the application.
The case for staffing
The memo says the hires would add two people to each shift, strengthen daily staffing and cut reliance on overtime. The department reports 8,450 overtime hours in the current budget year at an estimated cost of more than $340,000, with 10 employees out on workers' compensation or family leave at times, sometimes simultaneously.
Princeton runs three stations with 14 people assigned to each, 42 operational staff and six administrative positions, according to the presentation. Calls rose from 3,679 in 2023 to 4,093 in 2024 and 5,148 in 2025; the department has logged 4,009 runs so far in 2026. Staff say more people would let the department put a fourth apparatus in service.
