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Salisbury City Council Okays Firefighter Grant

Council Vice President Debbie Campbell, ci.salisbury.md.us.gov

The Salisbury City Council approved an application for a nearly $1.5 million federal grant last night.

It would add another 12 firefighters over the next two years and comes just two weeks after the council rejected the grant over technical issues and concerns about its impact on future layoffs.

During last night’s nearly two hour session…council members heard form uniformed firefighters who called on the council to approve the grant.

Council Vice President Debbie Campbell said she was reluctant to approve the application without knowing how much money the city had left over from 2012 fiscal year.

That drew a sharp rebuke from Mayor Jim Ireton who accused her of holding the grant hostage with that he called “deflection.”

In the end the Salisbury Daily Times reports that the vote to approve the grant application was 4-to-0 with Campbell abstaining.

Meanwhile, the council approved a legislative effort to expand the Salisbury-Wicomico Enterprise Zone sending it to the Wicomico County Council.

It would extend the Zone to include Business Route 50 west of downtown and along Snow Hill Road.

It has remained unchanged since 2006 and covers Routes 13 and 50 as well as Northwood Industrial Park and Westwood Commerce Park.  

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.