WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a $50,000 Community Facilities grant to the city of Dover to purchase a new fire pumper truck. The USDA is also awarding a $430,000 Community Facilities loan to purchase the truck, bringing the total USDA funds available to $480,000. The fire pumper truck will help provide emergency fire and medical services to Dover and other rural communities in the area.

“Ohio firefighters work every day to protect our families,” said Brown. “This investment will ensure that firefighters in Dover have the resources they need to keep Dover residents safe.”

These funds are a part of the USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program, which provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. The program helps rural small towns, cities and communities make infrastructure improvements and provide essential facilities such as schools, libraries, courthouses, public safety facilities, hospitals, colleges and daycare centers.

Brown has been a leader for Ohio’s rural communities, successfully securing a number of provisions that are important to Ohio farmers in the 2018 Farm Bill. He is the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 50 years.

###