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Lunenburg supervisors allocate $250,000 in ARPA funds to support paid staff at local fire departments
Summary
The board approved appropriating $250,000 in ARPA funds to support paid personnel at Victoria Fire & Rescue (85%) and Meherrin Fire & Rescue (15%) through the end of the fiscal year to address staffing shortages and decreased volunteerism.
Citing reduced volunteerism, higher operating costs and staffing vacancies at emergency services agencies, Supervisor T. Wayne Hoover proposed on Feb. 8 using $250,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support paid staff at Victoria Fire & Rescue and Meherrin Fire & Rescue through the end of the fiscal year.
Hoover told the board that career staff are needed across all shifts and recommended that 85% of the funds be allocated to Victoria Fire & Rescue and 15% to Meherrin Fire & Rescue. Supervisor Greg Currin asked whether insurance cost-recovery funds were still available; Hoover said cost-recovery revenues remain but are reserved for unit supplies and not for salaries. The board unanimously approved appropriating the $250,000 in ARPA funds as proposed.
The funds are intended to allow the two volunteer departments to maintain paid staffing through June; county finance staff will record the appropriation and coordinate fund distribution with the departments.
