Lynn applies early for stimulus cash in bid to aid fire dept.

LYNN – With the Lynn Fire Department operating at a bare minimum this summer due to budget cuts, the city has applied for a share of $20 million in state allocated stimulus money destined to help communities fund public safety efforts.Gov. Deval Patrick annou-nced last week that $20 million in federal stimulus money would be available to municipal fire departments throughout the state as a supplemental funding source to help avoid layoffs and ease the high costs associated with the financial crisis in the state.Although the deadline to submit applications for the money is not until Aug. 21, Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. this week put his signature on the application and said the city is prepared to submit the paperwork early.”We have applied for that, in fact I signed it (Tuesday night), so that is all set,” he said. “We haven’t heard anything from them and nothing is approved, so we don’t know if it will be coming here, but we have applied for it.”Patrick’s announcement comes after he agreed earlier this year to commit $45 million in stimulus funding to local police departments, something the city applied for and received.Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the Federal Stimulus Program, some funds for public safety are administrated by state government and some is provided directly to cities and towns by the federal government.The Governor made a commitment to address staffing reductions in municipal police and fire departments earlier this year and has been using the ARRA money that he is allowed to allocate as a way to keep his word.”These funds will help local police and fire departments keep professionals on the job, and the public’s safety preserved,” said Patrick in a statement.”Public safety is a critical priority for this administration and we need to use every dollar available to keep firefighters and police officers on the street protecting our communities,” added Lt. Governor Timothy P. Murray.According to the Commonwealth’s Civil Service Division, approximately 112 firefighters in 12 communities across the state have been laid off and are on the rehire list, while 118 police officers in 11 communities have been laid off. The intent of the federal stimulus funding is to rehire as many of these public safety professionals as possible and to prevent further layoffs in other communities; address staffing reductions caused by attrition; and give communities flexibility in dealing with reduced public safety budgets.Although the budget situation has been difficult for both the Lynn police and fire departments this summer, Clancy has avoided layoffs and says he will use any government money to supplement the costs facing the department.”Obviously any time you can get some additional money it is a good thing, maybe it will help put a ladder back on the street,” he said.While several programs are in place to aid police, the ARRA includes only one program for local fire departments, making $210 million available nationally through a competitive grant program to support the construction and renovation of local fire stations.The ARRA does not earmark any stimulus money to fire departments to bolster staffing or for programs that have been reduced or eliminated as a result of the current recession, meaning the money made available by Patrick may be the only way for local communities to fund fire departments.”We owe it to our firefighters and police to make damn well sure that despite tough economic times, we will make the investments necessary for them to do their jobs the best way they know how and keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry.