Rescue Squad drops request for funds

By Karissa Minn

kminn@salisburypost.com

The Rowan County Rescue Squad said this week it will continue to provide service to the southern part of the county at its current level of funding.

In its budget request for fiscal year 2010-11, the rescue squad asked for a $68,000 increase on top of the county’s current annual funding of $412,000.

The agency said the money was needed in part to sustain peak-time service to southern Rowan, which the agency has been providing for the county since November 2009.

Chief Coyt Karriker said the request was prepared in March or April, when little was known about the revenues and expenses associated with providing that service.

“We had to go by what money we had received so far,” Karriker said. “Based on those numbers, we were looking at a very large shortfall. ... Now we have a good set of numbers to look at, and that says we are a little closer to breaking even than we thought back in March.”

This month, County Commissioners Carl Ford and Jon Barber met twice with county staff members to discuss the possibility of bringing the South Rowan peak-time service in-house. The group concluded that using the rescue squad would be cheaper if the request were not granted.

At the second meeting, county Finance Director Leslie Heidrick said based on six months of the rescue squad’s costs and revenues related to providing service for the county, the agency should end the year with about $1,900 in excess revenue.

Karriker said that number may not be accurate, due to several variables — including a second truck that was added recently to run backup in Salisbury. But he said the agency is in better shape than he had predicted when the original request was made.

“Our goal is to break even,” he said.

Karriker said a Rowan County Rescue Squad Board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. today to address “accusations in the Post about needing to have our books examined.”

All current and past board members, all county commissioners and a Post reporter have been invited to attend.

Karriker said a copy of the rescue squad’s budget and audit report will be available, and county commissioners can ask any questions about the financial records at that time.

Contact Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.