Cibolo's reported $1.8M federal grant to hire 12 firefighters remains unconfirmed by the city

When a neighbor in Cibolo dials 911, the call falls to 39 people spread across three fire stations — 37 full-time firefighters, one fire marshal and one executive assistant. Cibolo is using a $1.8 million federal grant to hire 12 new firefighters, the Seguin Gazette reported this month, an expansion aimed at the population and building growth residents already feel on their blocks.

The city has not announced the award, the City Council has not placed it on an agenda, and FEMA does not list Cibolo in its award records as of mid-October. The only Cibolo grant action on the public record is separate: on Jan. 27, 2026, the council voted 7-0 to authorize an application to the Texas Governor's Office for a Public Safety Project, without stating an amount, and no award has been confirmed.

Where the money comes from

The federal program behind the reported grant is the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program — SAFER — which announced $324 million in expected nationwide funding for fiscal 2024 and is, by design, time-limited. Cibolo has not released the award's terms, so the exact length of the federal share and the size of the local match are not yet public.

When the federal share ramps down, keeping the 12 firefighters on the payroll falls to the city budget and local property taxpayers. Neither Fire Chief Mario Troncoso nor City Manager Wayne Reed has said how Cibolo would pay for that.

What 12 hires would do

Twelve new firefighters would lift the full-time roster from 37 to about 49 — a significant jump for a department that works out of three stations with 39 people today. Neither Troncoso nor Reed has put a number on the need, so the city has not said whether a dozen closes the gap between the roster and the growth along the Cibolo Creek corridor.

What to watch

The first place to watch is the council agenda, where formal acceptance of the award would state the amount and the source. Then the budget: whether the positions stay funded after the federal share ramps down is a decision for the City Council and finance director Anna Miranda. Then the calls themselves: whether a larger roster means faster, better-staffed response across the three stations and the new subdivisions is the change residents would feel the next time a neighbor dials 911.

For now, the names on the payroll are the ones Cibolo already has: 37 full-time firefighters across three stations. The money carries a time limit, the city has not said how it would keep the 12 hires once the federal share ends, and the subdivisions keep going up. The question is whether the people who answer the next 911 call outlast the grant — and whether a dozen is enough for the homes already being built.