By Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot
CURRITUCK, Va. — Three of six Currituck County volunteer fire departments will get less money in the coming budget. And they’re happy about it .
That is a change from previous years, when fire chiefs and county officials wrangled over finances and control.
Thanks largely to the Fire and EMS Advisory Board, made up of citizens and firefighting officials from every district, relations between the county and volunteer fire departments have improved and the budget process is easier.
“Everybody’s happy,” Rick Galganski, chief of Corolla Fire and Rescue, said. “This is a more realistic budget. It was painless.”
Beginning with the new budget year on July 1, volunteer fire departments will get a total of slightly more than $1.5 million divided according to each district’s expenses. For the past two years, each district got a flat amount of $258,963, causing dissatisfaction among larger districts with more expenses.
Crawford Fire District will get $291,000, more than any other district. Corolla and Lower Currituck will get $285,000 each; Moyock, $220,000; Knotts Island, $195,000; and Carova, $187,000.
A leftover amount of $43,874 goes to a contingency fund for smaller capital expenses. The county will also set aside $267,000 annually for large purchases.
Currituck County is mostly rural but has a busy five-lane corridor connecting the Outer Banks and Chesapeake. Most calls involve ambulances racing to wrecks or medical emergencies. In 2009, only about 800 of 3,606 total calls were for fire emergencies, said Michael Carter, chief of Currituck County EMS and Fire. About 150 to 200 people are registered as volunteers, he said.
In 2005, several volunteer fire departments delayed signing new contracts with Currituck County, citing concerns about the county taking too much control over a service that long has been run by communities .
That year, the county created a 2-cent countywide fire tax, took over managing finances of the departments and hired a county fire chief. Volunteers worried the county would take over control. But the county only took financial administration and did not control how the money was spent. Local chiefs maintained autonomy.
Two years ago, the EMS and fire advisory board was formed.
“A comfort level had to be built,” said Dan Scanlon, Currituck County manager. “They’re doing some good stuff now.”
The advisory board is working on a county fire department ordinance that will establish guidelines for such work as purchasing equipment for every department. That would save money and standardize equipment countywide, Galganski said.
The county employed a full-time staff of EMS personnel countywide in 2001 and now have 73 full-time professionals, Carter said.
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