REGIONAL NARRATIVE SAMPLE

1. Who are you, the host?
2. Where are you located?
3. What is your regions identified risk/problem?
4. What is your solution/remedy?
5. What laws and standards will be complied with?
6. List the partners and are all partners governing authorities onboard?
   
7. Explain how the users of each piece of equipment purchased with the grant either are, or will be, sufficiently trained to use the equipment. 
8. How much will it cost? (you must show your detailed budget item by item)
9. What is the total project cost, your match amount and how much is the Federal share.
   
10. Why it is the best choice to solve the problem?

1 & 2.  This Regional Communications Project is hosted by XXX fire department which is located XXX miles West of Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota in a rural farming area of our State. We are requesting $900,000.00 for a regional project in the Operations and Safety Program area for interoperability communications equipment to bring us into compliance with state and federal laws.

3. January 1st 2013 we will no longer be able to use our old obsolete radios. This will pose a serious life safety risk to our responders and the citizens we serve. We will also be in violation of our State and Federal laws. The paging channel is also being used as the primary fire communications channel, creating serious problems when more than one agency is out at one time. County Dispatchers often have difficulties paging out a second agency for mutual aid due to the channel being used for on-scene communications. The equipment being proposed will prevent these conflicts and will provide talk groups/channels reserved for tactical and command interoperability among all agencies. The fire service within the partnership area does not own any narrow band compatible radios, so it is vital that this transition begins immediately to transition to the State Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response (ARMER) system which is the State of Minnesota interoperability Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan (SCIP).

4. After meeting with the partners, the decision was made to take a regional approach to this project so that our desires and the objectives of Homeland Presidential Directives HSPD-5 and HSPD-8 for interoperable communications between agencies could be achieved.  A Minnesota Local and Regional Public Safety Interoperable Communications Assessment has been completed for our partners area. In response to this, the objective of this proposal is to upgrade our existing non-narrow band VHF radio system to become compliant with the FCC’s narrow-banding mandates. It is hoped that this will be accomplished by joining the 800 MHz trunked radio system already in place throughout the State of Minnesota. The equipment we are proposing to purchase will allow interoperable communications among our local, regional, State and Federal emergency responders.

VHF paging services for EMS, fire and other first responders will remain a key component of the partners radio system as there are no paging capabilities under the 800 MHz system at this time.

5. By asking for communications equipment we will be coming into statutory compliance with the following state laws; MN Law 182.653 for one and MN Law 403.36 STATEWIDE RADIO BOARD. Subd. 1e. and Minnesota State Law 403.911 (emergency services communications systems), and the upcoming mandatory Federal narrowbanding requirement.

6. Our match has been secured by our partners and all jurisdictions are on board and support the project.  We feel it is imperative that the partners expedite the replacement of their non-narrow band VHF equipment in order to maintain critical levels of interoperability. All the agencies represented in this project have experienced events requiring multi-agency responses and we feel the funds being requested are essential to continuing an effective level of communication between our firefighters, local police departments, emergency medical agencies and the dispatchers.

We are appreciative of the opportunity to act as the host agency on behalf of our partners consisting of 8 fire departments and 1 non-affiliated EMS organization and will comply with all AFG requirements as host:

Nine (9) Regional Partners: Number of personnel 262
XXXX Fire Department:  30,  XXXX Fire Department:  30, XXXX Fire Department:  30, XXXX Fire Department:  30, XXXX Fire Department:  30, XXXX Fire Department:  30,  XXXX Fire Department:  30, XXXX Fire Department:  30 and XXX Community Ambulance: 22

7. We will provide ARMER qualified instructor to provide the training on the proper use and maintenance of the equipment for all partners within the region. Our goal is to have a positive experience for every responder when they start using the radios. No problems!! The training via contract will cost $7,000 including printed supplies to complete.

8.  In efforts to achieve the necessary inter-agency interoperability, we are requesting $900,000 in Federal funds. The partners will contribute a 5% local match of $45,000 for a total project budget amounting to $945,000.
9.  Our partners have 55 vehicles, 153 riding positions for supervisors, 9 base stations and 262 responders.

Below is an outline of our project’s budget:
(55) 800 MHz/Trunked Mobile Radios - $####.......$ ###,###
(153) 800 MHz/Trunked Portable Radios - $####.......$ ###,###
(9) 800 MHz/Trunked Base Radios - $####.......$ ###,###
(262) narrow band tone/voice alert pagers -  $####.......$ ###,###
(36) spare portable radio batteries - $####.......$ ###,###
Training (per Contracted Services) - $####
Total..........................................$ 945,000

Total Project Cost  $ 945,000
Applicant Share  $ 45,000
Federal Share  $ 900,000
Additional Notes:
--Each portable will include an individual charger and a speaker microphone
--Base and mobile radios will include installation fees and applicable accessories (Antennas, wire, power supplies and taxes)

The equipment is expected to be distributed as described below (however this is subject to change).
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries
XXXX: XX - Portable Radios, XX - Mobile Radios, X - Base Radio, XX - Alert Pagers, X - Spare Portable Batteries

10.  The grant will allow the smooth and timely transition to the 800 MHz system and efficiently upgrade communications for all nine partners at the same time with 100% uniformity and interoperability of compliant equipment. We will link the emergency communications of the 262 responders in the area, eight fire stations, one EMS station, and 55 vehicles with this new equipment. This will achieve 100% implementation of our statewide communications plan for all these departments. Without FEMA assistance, it could take several years for us to make the transition due to affordability.

Each year we see that financial need typically receives the lowest score of the four elements. Applicants do not seem to put as much effort into this aspect of their application.

1. Providing a description of how you have attempted to fund your needs previously will demonstrate a continuing need and financial shortfall.
2. Increases in responsibility and/or population that could affect finances.
3. Justify the need for outside assistance.
4. Specifically what is the root cause of your need for Federal financial assistance?
5. List what you have been able to fund and what you have not.
6. Briefly describe your income compared to your expenses to illustrate your current funding deficiencies.
7. List any strategies you have initiated to increase or maintain funding levels.
8. What are the future prospects for revenue income?
9. What services or operations can you not fund?

We need this FEMA grant because we cannot afford such a large project with our own limited local resources. This is due to a number of factors:

1.   In the State of Minnesota we are prohibited by law from conducting fund raiser as a governmental agency. However each of our partners have been try to raise additional money through local fund raising events. But over three years such fund raising only netted about 3.9% of the combined departments revenue.

2. The current population keeps bouncing up and down over the last few years so it is very difficult to plan for protection services. Our Industry has also dropped with the closing of two of our major plants.

3.  The current combined incomes and expenses of our partner fire and EMS departments do not have any margin for us to afford this project. Each of partners receives a limited budget from their city government. This must be used to pay basic operating expenses. That leaves no room for as large a regional communications project such as we need.

4. The people in our area cannot afford to donate more because the per capita income in XXX County is only $18,013. This local fund raising is simply inadequate to pay for the regional project we need. Our un-employment is currently off the charts at 28%. We have 28 personnel of our partners responders that have also lost their jobs.

5. We have been able to secure funding for the towers. We will be able to maintain the cost of up keep on the new equipment for next several years through our internal budgets.

6.   Combined Nine Partners Budgets for 2010
$###,000 --- Building and capital improvements
$###,000 --- Salaries and paid on call
$###,000 --- Fire prevention
$###,000 --- Materials, supplies, services
$###,000 --- Heat, lights, water
$###,000 --- Minor firefighting and EMS equipment
$###,000 --- Training
$#,000,000 --- Total, Fire Protection and EMS All Eight Fire Departments and One Ambulance Service

Our nine combined city budgets are also tight. It would require the entire budget of all ten fire departments to be able to afford the project on our own, which is completely unrealistic.

Combined Nine Governing Partners Budgets for 2010
$##,000,000 --- General government
$##,000,000 --- Streets and highways
$##,000,000 --- Police services
$##,000,000 --- Parks and recreation
$##,000,000 --- Fire Protection and EMS
$##,000,000 --- Libraries
$##,000,000 --- Airports
$##,000,000 --- Economic development, housing authorities
$##,000,000 --- Sanitation
$##,000,000 --- Miscellaneous
$##,000,000 --- Public Health
$##,000,000 --- Total, All Nine Cities

7.  The financial strategy is search out other funding sources to help with our other vital needs for the basic mission services we are expected to provide. We have learned a lot from the AFG grant program and we are going to use that knowledge as we look for other grants.

8.   The financial and economic trends in our county are not good. We are less able to afford major purchases such as we need because employment is limited and incomes are low. Similarly, the median value of a house in XXX County is only $78,000; this low value means that we are much less able to generate funds for the fire departments through a property tax levy. Lastly, Minnesota faces a $7.6 billion two-year budget deficit which has forced steep reduction in State Aid dollars that flow to cities and counties, further crippling our local financial capacity to afford this FEMA project on our own.

9.  We have several of our partners that desperately need compliant stations and we don't know where the funds will come for those projects. We are just trying to hang on as best we can.

1. Very expensive and infrequently used items generally earn low cost/benefit scores but could be justified based on the benefits that could be realized when used.
2. Divide the cost of the item by the number of citizens that will benefit over the lifetime of the equipment item.  ($1.52 per citizen)
3. Real examples describing the consequences of not funding your grant would be valuable.
4. Describe what will change as a result of funding your grant.
5. How will the impact of the grant be increased or leveraged (shared with other communities, agencies etc.)
6. How was cost of the grant controlled? Bids, seeking innovative solutions?
7. How often will the new resource be put to use?
8. Is there any Interoperability
9. Describe firefighter and citizen safety benefits if awarded.

4.  This FEMA grant will allow us to remove the #1 major problem identified in our risk assessment which harms our capacity to deliver mission-critical services.

3. No Award Means  - The partners own radios and communication gear which are incompatible with each other. When it comes to paging, response, and on-site coordination, one side of the county literally cannot talk to the other side and will not know what is going on in an emergency situation. Our departments typically have about 60% of their responses being mutual aid calls which require good interoperable communications. We lack this. The result is a huge gap in capacity when it comes to effective emergency response.

5.  Our old and non compliant outdated radios are not compatible with the newer tower technology and cannot adequately participate with two upgraded towers in this upgraded system. Truck-to-truck communication is impossible among vehicles as little as four miles apart. There was an incident in 2009 where a crashed truck was blocking a highway and firefighters were summoned from several of our departments. Other emergency responders could not warn or direct our firefighter en route to the scene because of our incompatible radios and our own firefighters could not communicate truck-to-truck.

3. No Award Means  - Unsafe portable communication.  Communication is simply undependable more then four miles away from a tower, between firefighters inside a burning building and those outside. This creates a major danger for firefighters’ safety.

3. No Award Means  - Our ambulances in our area are on the same radio frequency as some of our departments. As a result, a page calling those fire departments also pages the ambulances. This is confusing, highly inefficient, and risks the loss of life-saving response time.

3. No Award Means  - All of our departments serve as severe weather spotters. When a tornado or other potentially deadly weather is approaching, spotters from one city who are just a few miles from another city cannot communicate. Further, those communication problems mean that the spotters often cannot alert the central county-wide system which sounds the warning sirens. Our region of Minnesota is struck by numerous such storms each year. Communication failures such as these can endanger lives.

3. No Award Means  - The radios used among the partners are all of different ages 20 to 35 years old, makes, and models. It is difficult to get replacement parts because so many of the radios are so old. As a result, the radios do not provide adequate and dependable coverage. By asking for communications equipment we will be coming into statutory compliance with the following state laws; MN Law 182.653 for one and MN Law 403.36 STATEWIDE RADIO BOARD. Subd. 1e. and Minnesota State Law 403.911 (emergency services communications systems), and the upcoming mandatory Federal narrowbanding requirement.

8. Benefit - The grant will allow us to efficiently upgrade communications for all of our mutual aid partners, and other emergency service providers at the same time to the 800 MHz system for a safer response to daily hazards. We will link the emergency communications of the 262 firefighters and EMS personnel in the partnership, eight fire stations and one EMS station, and 55 vehicles with this new equipment. This will achieve 100% implementation of our 100% uniformity and interoperability statewide communications plan for all the partners.

2. Benefit - We believe our project is cost-effective locally. There are 8,215 households and 20,000 people in XXX County. (2000 U.S. Census) This equals a FEMA grant of only $47.25 per person directly protected.

9.  Benefit - Training will go along with purchasing the new communications gear and will improve interoperability by giving our combined 262 firefighters and EMS responders an equal level of knowledge and skill. This training will be provided by the ARMER qualified instructor. The training will be provided at minimal cost compared to the investment of the project.

5.  Benefit - When we get the new communications gear operating among our departments, we will be able to communicate with six neighboring partners that have already upgraded to similar digital systems. By being interoperable with their 28 emergency response agencies, another 63,800 people will be added to those indirectly benefiting. Five additional neighboring counties are currently moving towards upgrading, which will further expand the regional interoperability.

5.  Benefit - Being award this grant will allow us to leverage funds form the local jurisdictions to help pay for the system.

6.  If we are funded we utilize a bid process that will assure the best price and solve interoperability problems with the newest compliant technology.

3. If we are not funded we will no longer be able to use our old obsolete radios. We will have NO communications.  This will pose a serious life safety risk to our responders and the citizens we serve. We will also be in violation of our State and Federal laws. The fire service within the partnership area does not own any narrow band compatible radios, so it is vital that this transition begins immediately.

Statement of Effect:

1. How will daily tactical operations improve?
2. What basic services will improve (firefighting, EMS, extrication etc.)?
3. How will firefighters safety be effected and to what extent?
4. Asking for equipment that will be used on every alarm is good.  Equipment that will be used rarely is bad. 

1 & 4.  This new equipment and training will give us the ability to respond safely and adequately in hazardous situations when assisting the public in our daily operations. The new communications gear will have a daily effect for each of our partner departments. The new equipment will be used on every alarm we respond to and also during training and other events. It will greatly improve our ability to communicate among our own members on every call and will thus have a constant benefit to our firefighters and EMS and to the public.

2. Interoperability among neighboring departments will be greatly improved when we are able to use new communications gear that will operate on modern standards. This will ensure interoperability with local, regional, state, and federal agencies.  The new radios will make it much easier for all departments in the partnership to respond more promptly in emergency situation and to coordinate the attack on a fires and coordinate with EMS emergencies. Doing this in a more efficient and timely manner through good communications will eliminate delays and confusion, thereby improving our ability to protect lives and property. Each of the departments is committed to the ongoing support and maintenance costs of the new communications equipment once it is in place, but they simply cannot afford to make the initial purchases on their own.

3.. We will track the impact of this grant over the next five years by counting the number of times the regional system is employed and thereby measure its positive impact on our communities and mutual aid partners. Our partners are an active participant in the work of our Regional Radio Board. The regional board will coordinate with the Statewide board in order to bring more effective emergency communications to all of Minnesota. By purchasing the new equipment we will replace 100% of the old units throughout the partnership that were acquired twenty or more years ago. The new equipment will comply with NFPA-1221, with Minnesota State law 182.653, and our State Radio Board.

The XXX Fire Department is the sponsor for this regional project. This department successfully carried out a regional AFG project for training in 200X. Our experience with the AFG program will enable us to do a good job administering this grant.

Thank you for willingness to review our request.