CHAMPION TWP., Ohio - Champion Township Trustees unanimously voted against accepting near $674,000 grant for the fire depatment at a meeting set for Tuesday night.

Fire Chief Tom Dempsey was initially “ecstatic” to learn his department had been chosen to receive a federal grant to hire several new full-time firefighters.

“My guys were excited, the union was excited, the trustees were excited — at first,” Dempsey said in an interview Thursday, October 9. That was before the township realized the grant they had been selected for was actually a cost-sharing program. 

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants are distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help departments increase the number of firefighters on staff. The money partially covers the salary and benefits of new firefighters, and cannot be spent on anything else. 

Had it accepted the grant, the Champion Township fire department would have received $673,877 from FEMA over three years — but it would also have been required to contribute more than $418,000 in the same time period towards the new hires. 

“We simply don't have the revenue stream presently to retire that debt,” said Trustee Rex Fee on October 9. “That said, we're looking at some possible mitigation to see if we can come up with funding from other areas within the fire department.”

During an October 21 meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted not to accept the grant. Fee told 21 News without a revenue stream to pay their share, accepting the grant would be a "financially irresponsible decision."

The department currently depends on two full-time and two part-time firefighters. Dempsey said this staffing level has stayed the same since 1982, while the number of calls and the costs involved have only grown. Without enough firefighters, he said, the department “can’t do our jobs in a safe and effective manner.”

“Our call volume last year was an all-time high, and we're already surpassing those numbers this year,” Dempsey said. “We need to have a safe working environment, and we also need to provide the services that the community expects and deserves.”

“The risk to my men and women, it worries me,” he added. “It’s a scary situation.”

Fee told 21 News since the grant was not accepted, business will remain "status quo" at the fire department.

About 60 miles south of his department, the city of East Liverpool is celebrating its own selection for a SAFER grant. East Liverpool fire Chief Antony Cumo told 21 News the city can afford the grant — and the continued employment of the new firefighters after it ends — due to immense savings on overtime costs and a projected boost in EMS revenue from running a second ambulance. 

Dempsey said overtime savings would “hopefully” help shoulder some of the cost for the township, but there are no guarantees. Champion Township also faces more economic uncertainty in the future, according to Fee, because of efforts to reform — or even abolish — property taxes. 

“We’re bracing for the worst,” Fee said. “You take that away, it just rips the fabric of every township that’s affected by it.” 

According to Laurie Jo Miller, the township’s fiscal officer, the fire department already spends more than its yearly revenue. For now, a carryover covers the rest of the spending, but that is projected to be depleted by 2028. Miller already expects a new fire levy to be required by 2028, even before taking the SAFER costs into account. 

Fee said the trustees initially voted Monday to reject the grant, but after public comment, decided to rescind the motion and give themselves more time to look for alternate options. While Dempsey is “cautiously optimistic” the township will find the funds, Fee said he is “doubtful.”

“We have to do our due diligence and make the best financial decision,” Fee said. “I know it sounds bad that you turn back a grant like this, but I’m put in office to look out for the finances of this township, and my vote will be dependent on that.”