Finance committee approves one-time $5,000 ARPA payment to each rescue squad

The Chesterfield County Finance Committee voted June 24 to give each local rescue squad a one-time payment of $5,000 from American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds.

Committee Member Speaker 2 moved “to give each 1 of them $5,000 out of the COVID monies,” and Speaker 7 seconded the motion. Chair (Speaker 1) called the voice/gesture vote and announced, “The motion carries,” noting there was no opposition.

The payment covers six squads, which the committee discussed in the context of longstanding concerns about volunteer shortages and varying transport activity. Eubanks (Mister Eubanks, Speaker 3), who introduced the ARPA item, said staff had distributed recent dispatch and transport counts to the committee. Eubanks also described instances in which squads are dispatched for helicopter landing-zone setups and other calls that departments said were stretching volunteer capacity.

Several members cautioned that a one-time ARPA disbursement would not address deeper staffing and response issues. Speaker 7 said the committee needed more information on squad roles and sustainability before relying on one-time payments. Speaker 2 acknowledged that “you cannot buy volunteers,” but argued the funds would provide short-term support.

The payment was drawn from the committee’s ARPA/COVID allocation and is explicitly described as a one-time distribution. Committee members did not attach conditions or an ongoing funding commitment at the vote. Staff will record the disbursement as an ARPA expense and notify council per the committee’s usual reporting procedures.

The committee proceeded to discuss broader ARPA priorities after the vote; no additional rescue-squad actions were taken at this meeting.