Coatesville City Manager Harry Walker last night called on city council to approve a resolution allowing the city to apply for $500,000 that could be used of offset police and firefighter overtime which the governor's office had put on the fast track for approval more than three weeks ago.

On Feb. 4 Gov. Ed Rendell announced the sate was making $500,000 available to the city to be used for overtime costs associated with the arson probe. Part of the funds are also to be used to aid fire victims.

Rendell's promise of financial aid to the cash-strapped city came 12 days after the Jan. 24 fire on Fleetwood Street that destroyed 15 homes and displaced 15 families. Yet, by Feb. 18, the city had not submitted an online application for the $500,000. Assistant City Manager Kirby Hudson said then that he had not received a user name and password from the state to open the application file. He said he had been in frequent contact with the state.

Last night council unanimously approved a resolution to approve the money. There was no public discussion on the resolution. Council also approved by a 4-to-3 vote to drawdown $200,000 from the Trust Fund to pay overdue bills and to make payroll. Walker has originally request a $900,000 drawdown, citing the need to fund additional police overtime that he said was averaging $100,000 a month and to staff up the police and fire departments.

Council members Ed Simpson and Kareem Johnson at the Feb. 18 meeting questioned why the rush to drawdown money from the Trust Fund when Rendell had approved $500,000 for just that.

Walker said last night there were stringent parameters associated to how the state funds could be used. He said there was a question if the money could be used for overtime due to arson investigations last year.

Since February 2008 there have been 66 arsons in Coatesville and surrounding municipalities, according to federal court documents associated with the arrest of 20-year-old Mark Gilliam of West Bradford on arson charges for the Jan. 25 fir at Happy Days Family Bistro.

Previously, the number of arsons had been unreported, reportedly because of incomplete record keeping by Coatesville.