March 28th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
According to Allegany County Emergency Services Director Dick Devore, the county’s 25 volunteer fire and rescue departments are facing a fiscal crisis. Primarily as a result of growing insurance costs- the departments are struggling to stay afloat. Devore has been working with representatives from the departments for the better part of the last year- and a list of recommendations has been submitted to the county commissioners for consideration- including a possible fire/EMS tax. Devore said currently it takes an estimated $5.5 million to operate the volunteer departments- but only about a third of that is covered by the county- leaving the departments having to rely on fund raisers to round out their budgets. Devore says the budget problem isn’t new- but it has now reached a breaking point…
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