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Grants can be sticky for officials
Applying for seemingly ‘free money’ not as easy as it may sound
By Ashley Vasquez
The old adage that nothing comes free definitely applies to grants, according to many Smithville officials.
Recently, several community members have suggested that the city, school district or fire district look into applying for more grant funding. However, administrators said it isn’t that easy.
Smithville Area Fire Protection District chief John Callahan said most if not all federal grants the district could apply for were not feasible.
“What happens is that you have to have the funding to sustain the equipment or personnel the grant may cover for a year or two forever,” he said. “If you can’t prove that you can add, for example, six new firefighters and pay for them for 20 or 30 years, it won’t do you any good to get the grant for two or three years.”
Callahan explained that the federal government fire-related grant program is three-pronged. It allows for departments to apply for grants for prevention programs, equipment and personnel.
“Our budget is so tight that making a long-term commitment to fund a program isn’t feasible,” he said. “For example, if you take money to get a new treadmill then when that treadmill breaks, you have to buy a new one. You are contractually obligated by the grant to do that and if you can’t commit to that amount of money down the road then you will get yourself into trouble.”
Wayne Krueger, assistant superintendent of support services with the Smithville R-II School District, said grants were flush in the 1990s but has since dried up for school districts.
“It was much easier to get grants 10 years ago or so,” he said. “But, now the few grants that are out there are highly competitive and you have to make a long financial commitment for the future to either match the grants or pay for the program for years to come. With how lean our budget is and the economy, it isn’t wise for us to make such a commitment without knowing the dollars will be there.”
The Smithville Police Department is awarded thousands of grant dollars each year. Police Chief Ken Wilson explained that the grants he applies for are short-term with little to no financial commitment.
“What makes police departments different is that we can apply for state and federal grants for overtime for enforcement,” he said. “This is different because the only commitment we put in is to record the enforcement period and provide statistics on how it went.
“When it is over, in say two weeks like Click It or Ticket, it is just over. We don’t have to keep it up. There aren’t many other areas of government that can do that.”
Wilson said even though the short-term grants were labor intensive for staff but beneficially worth it, he stayed clear of long-term commitment grants for the same reasons as other taxing entities do.
“It isn’t right to encumber future boards and elected officials to fund a safety program, for example, if you aren’t sure the money is there,” he said. “No money is ever free even though a lot of people think that. You either have to match it with a significant amount of money or fund it down the road. It isn’t as easy as it looks.”
Officials also said applying for grants and then realizing that you can’t fund the future program or match the grant can be detrimental for the governmental body. In 2006, the city of Smithville turned down a significant financial grant for walking trails it was awarded from the Missouri Department of Conservation when the Board of Aldermen realized it couldn’t afford its matching portion.
“If you apply for a grant, get it and then have to turn it down because you don’t have the money, you can bet you won’t get another grant for a long time,” Callahan said. “It just looks bad. So, you have to think long and hard about those grants before you apply.”
Despite the difficulty of grant writing and funding, all officials said they keep their eyes open for grants that may be “diamonds in the rough.” Currently, all city and fire district officials and board members are NIMS certified, which allows them to apply for many of the federal grants. School districts are not required to participate in that certification.
“If the right grant is out there, and we can afford to pay our portion and keep it going, we will absolutely apply,” Callahan said. “You have to read the fine print very closely and make sure you can do it. If those come our way, we will absolutely give it a shot and try to get that money.”
Smithville Editor Ashley Vasquez can be reached at 532-4444 or ashleyvasquez@npgco.com.
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Recently, several community members have suggested that the city, school district or fire district look into applying for more grant funding. However, administrators said it isn’t that easy.
Smithville Area Fire Protection District chief John Callahan said most if not all federal grants the district could apply for were not feasible.
“What happens is that you have to have the funding to sustain the equipment or personnel the grant may cover for a year or two forever,” he said. “If you can’t prove that you can add, for example, six new firefighters and pay for them for 20 or 30 years, it won’t do you any good to get the grant for two or three years.”
Callahan explained that the federal government fire-related grant program is three-pronged. It allows for departments to apply for grants for prevention programs, equipment and personnel.
“Our budget is so tight that making a long-term commitment to fund a program isn’t feasible,” he said. “For example, if you take money to get a new treadmill then when that treadmill breaks, you have to buy a new one. You are contractually obligated by the grant to do that and if you can’t commit to that amount of money down the road then you will get yourself into trouble.”
Wayne Krueger, assistant superintendent of support services with the Smithville R-II School District, said grants were flush in the 1990s but has since dried up for school districts.
“It was much easier to get grants 10 years ago or so,” he said. “But, now the few grants that are out there are highly competitive and you have to make a long financial commitment for the future to either match the grants or pay for the program for years to come. With how lean our budget is and the economy, it isn’t wise for us to make such a commitment without knowing the dollars will be there.”
The Smithville Police Department is awarded thousands of grant dollars each year. Police Chief Ken Wilson explained that the grants he applies for are short-term with little to no financial commitment.
“What makes police departments different is that we can apply for state and federal grants for overtime for enforcement,” he said. “This is different because the only commitment we put in is to record the enforcement period and provide statistics on how it went.
“When it is over, in say two weeks like Click It or Ticket, it is just over. We don’t have to keep it up. There aren’t many other areas of government that can do that.”
Wilson said even though the short-term grants were labor intensive for staff but beneficially worth it, he stayed clear of long-term commitment grants for the same reasons as other taxing entities do.
“It isn’t right to encumber future boards and elected officials to fund a safety program, for example, if you aren’t sure the money is there,” he said. “No money is ever free even though a lot of people think that. You either have to match it with a significant amount of money or fund it down the road. It isn’t as easy as it looks.”
Officials also said applying for grants and then realizing that you can’t fund the future program or match the grant can be detrimental for the governmental body. In 2006, the city of Smithville turned down a significant financial grant for walking trails it was awarded from the Missouri Department of Conservation when the Board of Aldermen realized it couldn’t afford its matching portion.
“If you apply for a grant, get it and then have to turn it down because you don’t have the money, you can bet you won’t get another grant for a long time,” Callahan said. “It just looks bad. So, you have to think long and hard about those grants before you apply.”
Despite the difficulty of grant writing and funding, all officials said they keep their eyes open for grants that may be “diamonds in the rough.” Currently, all city and fire district officials and board members are NIMS certified, which allows them to apply for many of the federal grants. School districts are not required to participate in that certification.
“If the right grant is out there, and we can afford to pay our portion and keep it going, we will absolutely apply,” Callahan said. “You have to read the fine print very closely and make sure you can do it. If those come our way, we will absolutely give it a shot and try to get that money.”
Smithville Editor Ashley Vasquez can be reached at 532-4444 or ashleyvasquez@npgco.com.
Comments on "Grants can be sticky for officials"
Comments are limited to 200 words or less.a real fire chief wrote on Jul 4, 2008 12:27 PM:
" That fire chief is not the brightest bulb.
The federal AFG grants for equipment that he alludes to - it is only expected that you maintain the equipment for its normal service life. Get new turnouts, you only maintain them as you would any other purchase. "
The federal AFG grants for equipment that he alludes to - it is only expected that you maintain the equipment for its normal service life. Get new turnouts, you only maintain them as you would any other purchase. "