Hempfield gets 2019 Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence
Share this post:
Hempfield was awarded the 2019 Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence for their work to sustain volunteer fire departments by applying for, and receiving, a federal grant.
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER grant, which was awarded in Sept. 1, 2017, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, gives departments the ability to improve recruitment efforts and training, implement retention incentives and reimburse tuition fees for all Westmoreland County fire departments.
By this February, about $100,000 of the money from the grant has been used, with 186 volunteer firefighters joining county departments.
The award also recognizes the Hempfield Bureau of Fire that was founded in 2016 and WestCoFire, an initiative for all Westmoreland County fire departments funded by the SAFER grant.
Nominated by Bill Bretz, Hempfield planning commissioner, the township qualified for the award under the theme Building Community Partnerships.
Online guidelines for the category state that nominees must demonstrate a partnership between both public and private stakeholders in the community, and show how the partnership addresses the needs of the community and how the sharing of resources is important in addressing those needs.
Nominees can qualify for nine categories under the award.
The award is part of a statewide week known as Local Government Week that dedicates Pennsylvania’s local officials and encourages citizens to learn about local government.
Hempfield supervisors will have the opportunity to attend an official Local Government Day Awards Ceremony on April 10 at Gov. Tom Wolf’s residence in Harrisburg.
Last year, Latrobe was recognized for winning the Building Community Partnerships award for transforming the downtown area into a growing, thriving city. A partnership with the Latrobe Community Revitalization Program helped them save deteriorating buildings.
Luzerne County in northeast Pennsylvania, also was recognized under the category for creating the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority Regional Stormwater Management Project streamlining regulations, creating partnerships and making the cost affordable for property owners.
Ten other municipalities were recognized for the award last year.
An official list of winners will be announced in April.