Recently there’s been a lot of talk about the economic stimulus package. In fact, there’s been a lot of ridiculous analogies made about what $1 trillion looks like; I heard one commentator say if you started when Jesus was born (when is that exactly?) and spent $1 million a day, you wouldn’t have reached $1 trillion yet. One of my favorite bloggers posted this chart in an attempt to show how silly such comparisons can become.

One thing we do know: It’s a lot of money. Today, a colleague of mine at Galain Solutions, a consultancy that offers services for building and serving government markets, sent me a report about how the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”—the stimulus package recently passed by the House—might affect public safety.

The House bill allocates $34 billion for public safety spending. Of course the final package may look quite different. But there’s a good chance that public safety will get some additional funding; President Obama has repeatedly voiced his support and Vice President Biden has been a long-time supporter of the fire service.

Here’s just a few things the folks at Galain recommend:

Changes will occur as the law works toward Presidential signature as guidance is clarified and administrative issues worked out. It’s impossible for government organizations and their vendors to figure out exactly how economic stimulus will affect them. Regardless of the details, substantial funds will be available. Guidance for buyers and sellers includes:

• Get prepared. Now is the time to start making plans, even if the rules are not 100% clear at this point. This applies to both buyers and sellers.
• Watch carefully. The rules are not clear, and they will change.
• Prepare for oversight. Despite the pressures to move quickly, new oversight requirements will likely come from Washington. Plus, local procurement rules aren’t waived just because grant money is involved.
• Be patient and informed. It will take time for the kinks to be worked out, even though all involved will want the money spent quickly.
• Expect competition. This is true for both buyers and sellers. Be assured that the funds will attract vendors who’ve not competed in public safety markets before. This can be good and bad for all involved. Credible stories and strong solutions will be at a premium. It will important for vendors to stick to fundamentals – good solutions, strong service, solid relationships with buyers, and most importantly, integrity. On the “buy side”, there will be competition over which programs should get funding.

If you’d like to read the report, e-mail me at frm.editor@elseiver.com and I’ll send you the PDF. Please note that this is a draft report from one perspective.

Shannon Pieper is managing editor of FireRescue magazine.