ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—A unanimous City Council accepted an over $607,000 federal grant Dec. 10 to hire four new firefighters for three years—following a public vote after a closed session—which occurred before an empty room more than an hour after the council’s regular session ended.
The decision to accept or reject the federal SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant was delayed nearly three months as council and city attorney William Bailey considered how many total firefighters the city would be required to hire by the federal government if it accepted the grant funds.
That number is still not known, and city officials declined to discuss grant specifics due to pending litigation.
Currently, the department comprises 44 firefighters—where 59 are estimated to be required under federal firefighter association safety standards—a situation that was highlighted by U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell in his support of the SAFER funding.
In its original 2018 grant application, city fire officials said they planned to hire 15 firefighters in total should they be awarded a SAFER grant to hire four firefighters.
However, that did not occur, with no new firefighters added; instead the city terminated 15 firefighters it planned to hire in April due to an unapproved budget.
Terminated firefighters’ suit
Another complicating factor to grant acceptance was a pending lawsuit against Englewood by two attorneys representing 10 of 15 would-be firefighters “conditionally” hired in January 2019 and terminated in April 2019 by then-City Manager Ed Hynes due to an unapproved city budget.
The attorneys representing firefighters contend they should be rehired by the city and that they were terminated for illegitimate reasons.
The city later approved a 2019 budget that included nearly $1 million for firefighters’ overtime, nearly double the 2018 firefighters’ overtime budget.
Attorneys for 10 terminated firefighters have argued that the firefighters could be rehired for less than the cost of paying growing overtime required in the understaffed department.
The 10 firefighters filed suit in May to get their jobs back, alleging “wrongful termination” since they were hired “conditionally” in January and fired in April due to an unapproved city budget, which attorneys allege was not a valid reason for termination.
The terminations occurred following repeated calls in early 2019 by the Jabari Society, a black firefighters’ organization, for a new firefighters’ exam and more hiring of local residents and African Americans.
In addition, City Council passed an ordinance in May that required a resident hiring preference for the fire and police departments.
Both factors are cited in the terminated firefighters’ lawsuit.
The city’s 24-page grant application said the hiring of 15 new firefighters—11 to be hired by the city and four to be funded by a $607,659.00 SAFER grant—would enable Englewood to meet National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) standards for employing 59 firefighters.
The goal of hiring 59 firefighters was supported by U.S. Congressman William Pascrell in the city’s SAFER application, where he wrote that the department was “hamstrung to a point of great concern” and needed federal SAFER funding to provide adequate fire protection for city residents, as well as Englewood Hospital.
EFD staffing at issue
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in charge of SAFER grant disbursals told Northern Valley Press that city fire department and FEMA officials must agree on a fire department “maintenance level/staffing number” for the department to accept grant funds to hire the firefighters.
According to its SAFER grant, the city must hire firefighters within 180 days of grant acceptance or forfeit grant funds.
‘Must fill…vacancies’
“Fire departments that receive SAFER-Hiring Grants must fill any currently budgeted vacancies (for operational firefighters that will contribute to NFPA 1710 or 1720 compliance) in addition to hiring the SAFER-funded positions, a FEMA spokesperson told Northern Valley Press in October, soon after Pascrell announced the award of SAFER funding to Englewood.
The federal grant provides funding for four new firefighters for three years, including 75 percent funding for two years and 35 percent funding in year three.
The 2019 municipal budget included funding for three firefighters for six months, or approximately $57,000, said city officials.
FEMA officials note a fire department is not required to maintain the new positions following grant expiration though most departments generally do, said FEMA officials.
Chief cites staffing, apparatus
“It should also be noted that staffing levels in the Englewood Fire Department fall well below the minimum staffing recommendations set forth by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA),” wrote Fire Chief Erik Enersen in his 2019 budget narrative.
Enersen said staffing had fallen from 55 firefighters in 2015 to 44 in 2019, plus retirements of two lieutenants in 2017 that led to increased overtime costs and a planned 2019 lieutenant’s retirement.
The chief said the “issues of greatest concern” for 2019 were staffing and replacing aging fire apparatus.
Hiring questions
According to people familiar with the matter, litigation between the city and terminated firefighters may hinge in part on legal interpretations of whether the terminated firefighters were actually hired and whether the grant requires “new” firefighters be hired who are ready to immediately join the department.
Efforts to reach federal SAFER grant officials to confirm requirements for new firefighters to be hired were not returned by press time.
A settlement conference was held Dec. 16 in Superior Court between attorneys for terminated firefighters and Englewood’s city attorney.
Efforts to contact Bailey for comment were not returned by press time.