Woodstock is seeking $322,965 in federal funds to help pay for three new firefighters over a three-year period.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides 75 percent in FEMA funds for the first two years and 35 percent for the third year.

The city’s match will be $43,644 in each of the first two years and $113,475 the third year, for a total applicant share of $200,763, according to an executive summary by Woodstock Fire Chief Dave Soumas to a recent City Council meeting. The total cost of the program, counting federal and local funds, will be $523,728.

The awarding process usually takes about a year, and the city would have one year to begin the project, Soumas said. The application, made on Feb. 10, is Woodstock’s fourth application submitted for the grant.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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