In September 2017, Fire District 3 commissioners Barnfather and Gawley voted not to accept $1 million in a federal grant called SAFER to hire additional firefighters.
The commissioners took this vote citing future financial worries despite a rapidly increasing call volume and already evidence of delays in responding to some emergency 9-1-1 alarms.
They stated they agreed with the need for more staffing.
Now in September 2019, another SAFER grant was applied for but this time not awarded to the fire district.
It has been two years since the grant denial. Staffing has not increased, alarms have increased and the district is close to having nearly 40 percent of its annual budget in a savings account — those future financial worries never came close to being reality.
The men and women firefighters of the district will always do everything we can when you call 9-1-1. We are here to serve you.
Please vote for Bill Miano. He has a proven track record of spending tax dollars wisely and won’t put your emergency in jeopardy of going unanswered.
Chris Corbin,
Sequim