Gov. Shapiro pushes budget proposals for firefighters in Mt. Lebanon
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Mt. Lebanon Fire Department Monday to press lawmakers in Harrisburg to approve his budget, which includes $30 million in grants for fire companies across Pennsylvania.
Top of mind for Shapiro and other speakers at Monday’s event was the recent arson at the governor’s mansion. Investigators claim 38-year-old Cody Balmer set fire to Shapiro’s residence the morning of April 13. Balmer faces multiple charges, including attempted homicide.
“This past weekend my family and I experienced what it’s like to be rushed away from a fire while you see heroes rushing in order to put out a fire and save lives,” Shapiro said during a press conference. “At the governor’s residence, an arsonist broke in, and tried to claim my life and the life of my family and others who were there.”
Shapiro was joined in Mt. Lebanon by Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and other elected officials including U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, state Sen. Wayne Fontana and state Rep. Dan Miller, all Democrats. Also speaking at the event were Mt. Lebanon Fire Chief Kurt Christofel and Ralph Sicuro, president of Pittsburgh Firefighters Local 1.
The governor highlighted his proposed budget’s call for $30 million in competitive grants that would allow fire departments to seek funding for recruiting, retention and equipment.
This is in addition to $30 million in grant funding that already exists.
“Here’s the difference. The 30 that is already available gets divvied up and sent out to fire departments across Pennsylvania, generally based upon their size. This new $30 million is going to be a competitive grant. So when the chief here says we need something unique for Mt. Lebanon, there is now a fund available for competitive grants for them to go and chase and bring back to this local community,” Shapiro said.
The proposed budget also calls for a pilot program that would incentivize cooperation between fire departments, and to cover annual cancer screenings for firefighters.
Shapiro was flanked by dozens of officials representing fire departments in the region, including Peters, Cecil, North Strabane and South Strabane townships. South Strabane Fire Department Chief Jordan Cramer said increased funding is something needed “badly” by the Washington County agencies.
“The costs of providing service are just continuing to rise, and at some point our taxpayers can’t take on all of that cost at a local level … The plans that they’re proposing would be incredibly beneficial to us,” Cramer said after the press conference finished.
Rising costs is also why the state incentivizing cooperation between agencies is important, according to Cramer.
“They are essentially prioritizing and incentivizing departments that are willing to work with other areas and other regions. It’s something that we have to do more of, even in Washington County. Again, the cost of service continues to increase so much that we’ve got to work together to try to reduce our cost to be able to continue to provide this level of service,” Cramer said.
When Shapiro mentioned he was proposing the state cover cancer screenings for Pennsylvania firefighters, the room erupted into applause. Cramer called this prong of the governor’s budget a “priority.”
“It is a priority that I think most departments have had for several years, and we don’t have a funding mechanism for it. If you look at other states, they pay for every single firefighter to have a cancer screening. At this point, Pennsylvania does not,” Cramer said. “We need that badly, and if the governor is able to get that through it’s going to greatly benefit all of our fire departments here in the county.