Toccoa awarded $20,000

The City of Toccoa was recently awarded two grants from the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), in the amount of $20,000.

The annual no-match grants are awarded to municipalities for purchases that help both employees and the community.

The City of Toccoa’s HR Director Jan Crawford told WNEG News about the grants.

The grants were used to purchase equipment for Toccoa’s Fire Department, Police Department, Utilities Department and Public Works Department.

GMA Marketing Field Service Manager Eileen Thomas, explained that “This program allows each city to stretch their budget dollars and provide a safer work environment for their employees.”

The GMA Safety and Liability Management Grant program was introduced in 2000 to provide a financial incentive to assist members in improving their employee safety and general public liability loss control efforts through training and the purchase of equipment or services.

Since the inception of the program over 130 cities have received grant money through the program, over 500 grants were approved totaling nearing $1.5 million to fund items such as bulletproof vests, training videos, confined space entry equipment, reflective safety vests, fire department turnout gear, and police department in-vehicle video systems.

These grant funds have helped leverage the purchase of over $2.6 million in this type of equipment and training.