Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad seeks modest rescue-tax increase to sustain operations and fleet

Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad leaders told the St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 29, 2013 that the squad needs a modest increase in its rescue tax allocation to keep operations solvent, maintain vehicles and cover rising insurance and utility costs.

Amy Raley, president of the Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad, and Christie Bright, treasurer, presented the squad’s budget history, call volume and a request to raise the squad’s rescue allocation. Raley said the squad had 61 members in 2012 and responded to 661 calls that year on a budget of about $391,000; she said the squad’s membership donated about 24,000 hours of service in 2012, which the presenters estimated equated to roughly $521,000 in volunteer value to the county.

Ridge described current funding and the requested change in plain terms: the squad said its first-due area currently…