Marysville Fire Department to restore 3 jobs with federal grant

A $660,000 federal grant will soon put the Marysville Fire Department back to previous staffing levels, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The money will allow three full-time firefighters to be rehired for two years.

"It's not guaranteed beyond that," Fire Chief Mike Carr said Tuesday.

As part of Marysville's most recent cost-cutting measures, the department's budget was slashed from $1.36 million to $1 million, forcing a reduction of $300,000 in personnel funding for the year.

Three of the station's nine full-time firefighters were reassigned by Calfire to other communities.

Since September, the department's responder teams have had to dispatch with two instead of three firefighters — not including the fire chief — and with a minimum of firefighting equipment.

"We've had to rely on our volunteer firefighters a lot more," said Capt. Dale Skinner.

In the case of multiple calls, "we've had to triage those," he said. "With another person, it makes life a whole lot easier and safer."

The department also was forced to disband its Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team, which helps serve the region.

Skinner said seven firefighters collaborated to research and compose the text for the federal Fire and Emergency Response — SAFER — grant application.

The team stressed the city's need for public safety personnel, especially in light of its ring levee and past catastrophic flooding events.

Marysville City Council members voted last year for 20 percent across-the-board pay cuts for city staff.

The grant application stressed Marysville's severely depressed economy, citing Yuba County's unemployment rate and ever-decreasing tax revenues — in part due to the state's withholding of property taxes to help fix its own budget problems.

"The economic situation of the city is still dire and local revenues continue to erode," the application reads.

CONTACT reporter Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712.