Reading Wants Altered Deal On Hiring Firefighters

The city, afraid that a $4 million grant to hire 30 more firefighters may force it to lay off many of them in two years, is asking federal officials to modify the deal to let it hire only 20.

But the costs and repercussions of either plan still aren’t fully known, and City Council on Monday again tabled an ordinance that would allow the city to hire either number.

“Council must understand what are the numbers,” Council President Francis G. Acosta said. “I want to see them in black and white. I’m not supporting this without the numbers.”

But council and the city must act soon; the deadline to accept the grant is March 8.  Council has no voting session before then, but said it would call a special meeting if necessary.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=455099

Scranton To Return Part Of ‘Free Money’ For Firefighters

After learning the hard way that closed fire stations can slow responses to fires, city officials last month celebrated an almost $8.2 million federal grant that would pay for recalling laid-off firefighters and hiring more.

Now, they plan to reject about a third of the money.

The grant was enough to pay for calling back 29 laid-off firefighters plus one on military leave and for adding 20 new firefighters – a total of 50 – for two years, but Mr. Doherty decided to decline the money for the new firefighters because the city could not afford to keep paying them after the two years and because the city would have to pay unemployment benefits when they were laid off.

It is unclear whether the city will be able to afford to keep all the other 29 after two years.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-to-return-part-of-free-money-for-firefighters-1.1331750

Reading Fire Department Gets Grant Of Nearly $1 Million

Image via Wikipedia

The Reading Fire Department has won a grant of nearly $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer announced Thursday at his third-in-three-days public meeting about reopening the 2012 budget.

The office of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called him late in the afternoon to announce the city had been approved for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant of $999,781, Spencer told about 50 people at the Historical Society of Berks County, 940 Centre Ave.

He said he was told it was by far the largest of 10 grants totaling $1.56 million awarded to fire departments in the state. Casey is a Scranton Democrat.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=360291

Montgomery County Residents Eligible For FEMA Assistance After Irene

Montgomery County residents are eligible to receive Individual Assistance for damage that occurred as a result of Hurricane Irene now that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has added the County to its Major Disaster Declaration.

Uninsured and under-insured homeowners, renters and businesses are eligible to receive grants for temporary housing, home repair, home replacement and permanent housing construction…

Click here for details: http://www.timesherald.com/articles/2011/09/14/news/doc4e70f50da6a8b085684529.txt

 

Susquehanna River Reaches 38.82 Feet In Wilkes-Barre

Image via Wikipedia

The Susquehanna River had topped out at 38.82 feet in Wilkes-Barre just before 1 a.m. this morning.  By 3:30 a.m. the National Weather Service declared the river had crested just under 39 feet.  An earlier prediction was for a crest of 41 feet.

Unprotected areas like West Pittston, Jenkins Township, West Nanticoke and Shickshinny experienced major flooding.

In Duryea there was a partial levee breach that sent 200 people from their homes to an emergency shelter at Sacred Heart Church Thursday evening.

Wilkes-Barre Mayor, Tom Leighton has just issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Brookside Section of the city due to rising water on the streets.

President Obama Signs Emergency Declaration For Pennsylvania

Image via Wikipedia

The POTUS signed an emergency declaration for Pennsylvania due to conditions from Tropical Storm Lee.  The following counties were listed: Adams, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wyoming, and York.

FEMA will begin working with state and local officials to provide federal assistance to flood victims.  The start date of the emergency declaration is September 3, 2011.

Obama Declares Pennsylvania Disaster Area After Irene

Today, President Obama agreed with Governor Corbett’s request and declared Pennsylvania a disaster area.  This declaration opens up much-needed federal aid for our state!

Governor Corbett declared 11 counties disaster areas after Irene sloshed through Eastern Pennsylvania causing flooding and wind damage in its wake.  The 11 counties are Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike, Wyoming and Wayne.

This is great news for municipalities hit with unexpected storm related expenses.