Dayton voters Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Issue 15. The charter amendment clears the way for city firefighters to volunteer in other communities, something the city charter had barred.
The ballot measure was proposed by Dayton City Commissioners Matt Joseph and Chris Shaw. Shaw says the rule change is needed to allow the city to compete for federal firefighting grants.
“We are at bare bones. I mean, we have really had to scale back, both in terms of staffing and services rendered. So, we have to be able to apply for these grants. It frees up monies for equipment and other things that we need and it can only help the service that we provide for the city.”
Issue 15’s approval means Dayton would now be eligible to apply for a so-called federal SAFER staffing grant. The Dayton Fire Department currently operates with 177 firefighters.
