The Borough has been awarded a Challenge Grant from the Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP), administered by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA). Challenge Grants enable local governments to explore and facilitate shared services to reduce taxpayer costs & enhance services. Notably, in this latest round of funding, Haddonfield was the only recipient of a Challenge Grant, which it will share with the Borough of Barrington & the Borough of Haddon Heights to conduct the Tri-Borough Emergency Services Study and Implementation Plan.
“We are incredibly excited about this award and the opportunity it affords us to assess and plan for the provision of life-saving services,” says Haddonfield Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich. “I’m very thankful for the support of the DCA, my fellow Commissioners, and our counterparts in Heights & Barrington, who are always willing to work collaboratively, especially regarding public safety.
“We can’t say or show often enough just how grateful we are to our first responders, particularly over the last two years. By undertaking this study, we’re able to put our commitment to them and their departments into action. It makes it possible for us to address the realities of firefighting and EMS in meaningful and productive ways.”
The Borough of Haddonfield first became interested in pursuing this grant application in 2021 after being asked to consider various proposals for paid firefighters from multiple individuals within Haddon Fire Co. No. 1 and the Haddonfield Ambulance Association. In January of 2022, after confirming interest and similar challenges faced by Barrington and Haddon Heights officials, Haddonfield acted as the lead agency, spearheading the application for $75,000 to fund the study of emergency service operations and develop viable short- and long-term solutions.
“Haddon Heights is thrilled our three communities have received this grant, ” said Haddon Heights Mayor Zachary Houck, who also works as a career firefighter. “Public Safety is always at the forefront of our minds, and we owe so much to the men and women who serve and protect our communities. We are excited to be able to help them.
“In the last two and a half years, the pandemic has exacerbated many of our communities’ issues. This grant will help our three towns better understand the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges ahead for our public safety departments and help steer our decision-making in the future. Data is a powerful tool, rarely able to be gathered and analyzed by towns our size easily, yet it has helped steer the decision-making in many larger departments around us. We are excited to be able to finally have this opportunity.”
“We are so thankful to receive this grant,” said Barrington Councilman Kyle Hanson. “In Barrington, we have been working diligently over the last few years to improve our fire department as well as address the staffing concerns of our EMS.
“We know that many other small towns, like ours, face similar issues with their public safety. So, we are eager to get to work with our neighbors in Haddonfield and Haddon Heights to collaboratively address this issue.”
In Haddonfield, the volunteer members of one of the nation’s oldest active fire companies, Haddon Fire Co. No. 1, operates under the direction of Fire Chief Lou Frontino. Frontino also works as a Borough EMT and oversees the Borough’s paid EMS staff, which continues to operate 24/7 within the Borough’s Fire Dept.
Importantly, the Borough Fire Dept. employees and volunteers will continue to provide life-saving services while the Tri-Borough Emergency Services Study and Implementation Plan is undertaken. Officials and staff from all three (3) municipalities will be meeting in the coming weeks to review the grant award parameters and then begin to outline the next steps to the public in August.
