City Council recently approved a minor amendment to the 2020 fiscal year Action Plan for the spending of a Community Development Block Grant.

Prior to the decision, Jamie Shrawder of the SEDA-Council of Governments explained the purpose of the amendment.

“Originally, we had allocated $98,380 to the Williamsport Bureau of Fire for the self-contained breathing apparatus,” she said.

However, the bureau had additional funds that they were not able to spend because of timing and availability of equipment, meaning there was $9,471 left after they purchased the SCBA units. SEDA-COG then proposed that money would be put into the purchase of the bureau’s rescue boat.

Councilwoman Liz Miele, chair of the finance committee, asked if the cost of the rescue boat went up.

“I thought we had funding for the remaining cost of the rescue boat,” she said.

SEDA-COG estimated the funds for the rescue boat to be at around $100,000.

“This is a little above that but if there is funding left in the rescue boat it will be put into something else,” Shrawder said. “We just have to spend the old money first,” she said. “We put the old money into what is going to spend it first and we spend it,” she said.

“So basically we are spending that $9,000 plus an additional $6,000 and maybe moving $9,000 back out to another expense,” Miele said.

“Yep, we will just keep moving,” Shrawder said.