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Council reviews volunteer fire and EMS funding increases; LOSAP tax treatment remains unsettled
Summary
County staff presented a budget including capital contributions and higher per‑unit EMT salary support for volunteer departments and discussed workers' comp reimbursement, mobile data units and a potential IRS private‑letter ruling on 1099/LOSAP tax reporting.
Volunteer fire and EMS leaders met with the Wicomico County Council on April 30 to review a budget package that includes operating supplements, capital contributions and reimbursements for volunteer departments.
County staff said the budget recommends a $275,000 capital contribution (budgeted as pay‑go), reimbursement of up to $18,000 per volunteer entity for ambulance workers'‑comp related costs, and increases in operating support that average roughly $11,000 per department. The county also recommends increasing the EMT salary grant from $2.50 to $2.75 per location, staff said during the presentation.
Other items: the budget includes about $55,000 for physicals ($5,000 per department), a line for respiratory protection and a request for provision of mobile data terminals (MDTs) and related mobile connectivity. Staff said the MDTs would cut radio traffic, improve unit tracking and be managed largely by outside vendors to reduce IT burdens. "We're pretty sure that our original quote through a county mobile data terminal was gonna be about $5,000 per unit," one speaker said during the briefing.
Tax treatment (LOSAP/1099): volunteer leaders and council members discussed whether individual LOSAP (Length of Service Award Program) payments should generate 1099s or require a private IRS determination. Some volunteers prefer to avoid the expense of a private‑letter ruling (estimated in the meeting at $35,000); county staff said they could keep a record of correspondence from congressional staff and IRS staff but that the council must decide how much legal and financial protection it wants before proceeding.
Council members asked for a spreadsheet detailing the contingency items and allocations; staff said they would provide the itemized list to the council. No vote was taken on the volunteer funding package at the meeting.
