District Budget

he Fire District operational budget year runs from January 1st through December 31st of each year.  The operational amount is derived each year from taxes levied on district properties that are not tax exempt.  There exist no other income sources available such as sales tax.  A NYS property tax cap law of 2% limits the District spending ability.  We use every opportunity to voice our District residents needs to both local and federal officials and participate in several statewide fire organizations seeking funding above our operational budget funds.  We continue to seek funding grants through state officials finding little in support of our efforts. Most recently, in May 2023, the Fire District was awarded $190,580 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for its FY-2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant request. This grant money is earmarked specifically for recruitment of three new firefighters each year and the retention of existing personnel over the next 4-year period. The District had made application during calendar year 2024 to three separate DHS - FEMA grant opportunities: FY-2023 Assistant to Firefighters Grant (AFG); FY-2023 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S). and NYS V-Fire grant opportunities. Each of our FY-2023 DHS-FEMA applications were not awarded due to the DHS allocated available funding being exceeded by the number of requests received. We are making the necessary preparations to re-apply once we receive notice that the new application period has opened during first quarter 2025. The NYS V-Fire support grant awards have yet to be awarded through the NYS Governors Office and NYS Department of Homeland Security. We continue to seek both public and private grant opportunities and partnerships.