Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Charlotte County Board approves $60,195 emergency allocation to Rescue Squad, backs support for HB 2175
Summary
At a Feb. 7 special meeting the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors approved a $60,195 emergency allocation to the Charlotte County Rescue Squad and voted to send a letter to the Virginia House of Delegates supporting House Bill 2175. County officials said longer-term fixes will be costly and gradual.
The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 7 to authorize an emergency allocation of $60,195 to the Charlotte County Rescue Squad and to send a letter supporting House Bill 2175, board records show.
County Administrator Daniel Witt, who also served as clerk at the special meeting, told supervisors the rescue squad had contacted him saying it was having difficulty making payroll for its three full-time crews. Witt said the county had already moved $37,000 for the Public Safety Office and that $60,195 remained in the budget available to appropriate to the squad.
"The Board has underfunded CCRS for a long time," Witt said, and added that the squad would need about $550,000 to operate for a full year if it could hire sufficient staff. "It is a long, slow, expensive process and there is no easy way to fix it," Witt said.
Supervisor Walter T. Bailey urged the board to write to the Virginia House of Delegates in support of House Bill 2175, which Bailey said would help the state assist fire and rescue squads. On Bailey's motion, with Supervisor Hazel Bowman Smith seconding, the board voted unanimously to have staff prepare and send the letter.
Supervisor Will Garnett moved to allocate the remaining $60,195 to the Charlotte County Rescue Squad; Supervisor Garland H. Hamlett Jr. seconded. Hamlett said the funding addresses an immediate payroll need but expressed concern about what would happen when the one-time money runs out. The allocation passed with six votes in favor and one opposed: Supervisor Hazel Bowman Smith recorded the lone no vote.
Witt said the county has hired a Public Safety Director who will provide oversight and that staff had drafted an ordinance to establish a Public Safety Department for the county. He characterized the financial and staffing challenges facing the rescue squad as persistent and costly.
The board approved the agenda at the start of the meeting and adjourned after the funding vote. No other formal actions were recorded.
