Since The Aubrey Group began its engagement with the Borough of Atlantic Highlands in 2023, we have secured $177,624.75 in funding for the Borough’s operations. Of these awards, two key grants – the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ (NJDCA) American Rescue Plan Firefighter Grant and FEMA’s Port Security Grant Program – directly help the Borough achieve its goals of enhancing public safety and emergency management capabilities. 

The NJDCA’s American Rescue Plan Firefighter Grant (ARPFFG) helps local and regional fire departments within New Jersey provide their first responders with protective equipment. This enhances their ability to protect themselves and their communities on the fireground. In 2024, The Aubrey Group won Atlantic Highlands $75,000 (the maximum award amount) to purchase new air bottles for their self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) for its volunteer fire department. SCBA packs are essential for firefighter safety, as they allow department members to breathe and move safely in burning buildings with low oxygen. At the time of this application, the Borough’s existing SCBA air bottles were nearing the end of their expected lifespan, which posed a serious threat to the lives of firefighters and the families they were protecting on the ground. To write this application, our team met with the Fire Chief to gather essential information about the Fire Department’s service levels and financial needs. This included data such as the number of fire calls over the past few years and the size of the population that the Department routinely served. The Aubrey Group used this information to craft a compelling application that awarded the Borough funds to protect and equip its firefighters.

FEMA’s Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) funds ports and harbors to enhance their security infrastructure, reduce the risk of terrorism, improve port resiliency, and enhance overall emergency management. The Aubrey Group prepared a proposal to replace the surveillance infrastructure within the Borough marina. To accomplish this, The Aubrey Group met with the Borough Administrator and Harbor Manager to determine the highest priority project to improve the safety of the harbor, and corresponded with members of the United States Coast Guard to plan a project that would identify an existing gap in the Coast Guard’s security infrastructure, and devise a way to fill that gap. This gap was the Sea Streak Ferry Terminal on the municipal harbor, which was an identified “soft target” housing thousands of people each day, and at a greater risk of attack. Through these meetings, The Aubrey Group developed a project that was mutually beneficial for both parties, enhancing the Borough’s surveillance infrastructure and planning a way to share security footage from new CCTV cameras with the Coast Guard. As a result, the Borough was awarded a Port Security grant of $72,624.75 to carry out this essential project.

About the Client: The Borough of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, is a small coastal community in Monmouth County. Atlantic Highlands has the largest municipal marina on the East Coast, housing the Sea Streak Ferry. The Sea Streak Ferry transports roughly two thousand commuters every day between New Jersey and New York City, who play a pivotal role in the Borough’s economy through small businesses in town and along the harbor. The Borough’s location in proximity to New York has made it strategically significant in safety and emergency planning for the region. For example, during the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Borough was a pivotal safety point, welcoming New Yorkers who were ferried out of the city. With the daily increase in borough population (through commuters), and the harbor’s size and strategic importance, one of the Borough’s main grant priorities is public safety and emergency management.

Photo Credit: Atlantic Highlands Fire Department Facebook Page