Wythe County Supervisors agreed to help out the Rural Retreat Rescue Squad, voting unanimously to spend up to an additional $32,000 to help the squad make payroll if needed.
Assistant County Administrator Matt Hankins also said the county could help the squad work through getting payments for calls denied by insurance in 2020, saying records indicated that 421 calls had been denied payment.
Supervisors also approved the squad’s request to keep carryover funds. If needed, the extra money would be documented and earmarked for the use of meeting payroll.
During citizens time, one commenter focused in on the county’s budget, passed at the previous meeting. Jeff Wright took issue with some board members holding the total budget hostage in order to fund the APEX center. Supervisor Ryan Lawson had asked for a vote separating the APEX budget from the overall county spending plan but the measure was voted down.
Wright told county leaders that the move wasn’t the right one and was akin to how politics plays out in Washington, D.C. He warned that if they keep it up, residents will get bent out of shape.
Wright also took issue with incremental tax increases tied to wasteful projects, saying that the county is essentially throwing another lump of money at the ill-fated APEX center to keep the doors open. He added that it “doesn’t take a rocket scientist” to know that the center is in a bad location, questioning whether it could ever be profitable.
He asked that if Supervisors were going to spend taxpayer dollars against the wishes of many taxpayers that they develop and share two-year and five-year financial strategic plans.
In other news, Supervisors approved three personnel measures: Ashlyn Wilson’s probationary period ended April 1 and Wilson is now on full-time with dispatch at an annual salary of $27,000. Hunter Umberger was hired as full-time dispatcher with an annual salary of $26,000 effective June 9. Eric Queen was discharged as a deputy effective June 2.
