Volunteers: Proposed budget would delay response to 911 calls

May 17—CUMBERLAND — Lives are on the line, Jonathan Dayton said of the county's proposal to cut $2 million from the Department of Emergency Services to reduce a more than $13 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2025.

Dayton is president of the Allegany Garrett Counties Volunteer Fire Rescue Association.

The group represents nearly 1,500 active volunteers at departments across the two counties with the exception of LaVale, Frostburg and Shaft companies.

The county's proposed budget would eliminate roughly half of its EMS staff, which was implemented to supplement the volunteer-led system, Dayton said Friday.

"A lot of things concern me," he said of proposed funding cuts that will "have a devastating ripple effect on many communities within Allegany County."

Volunteer fire departments that operate ambulance services will fail if they don't have help from county EMS workers, he said.

"Imagine calling 911 and not having an ambulance at your door for 20, 30 or 45 minutes," Dayton said.

"People dial 911 in their most dire time of need, and delays in care will have detrimental effects on citizens' lives," he said. "People will die."

The volunteers want county government leaders to reevaluate the budget and its impacts on EMS to "find ways to continue allowing ambulances to operate without cutting any already stretched-thin services," Dayton said.

'Frivolous spending'

Dayton talked of years of mismanagement of taxpayer funds, a concern staff and volunteer EMS workers have repeatedly shared with county officials but fell "on deaf ears."

Much of the county's "frivolous spending" could be eliminated, Dayton said.

In an email Monday to county administration and local union officials, DES Director James Pyles stated "cost cutting measures for our EMS division" include removal of county staff from three volunteer companies.

He listed $258,300 worth of line items that could be removed from the DES budget.

Elimination of "our EMS support" to the sheriff's office Special Response Team would trim $16,000, Pyles said.

Other items he said could be cut include $70,000 for property and equipment maintenance, $7,000 for radios, $3,500 for travel, $2,400 for advertising, $1,800 for office supplies and $1,400 for postage.

Dayton said volunteers want to know how money has been spent to cause the current budget crisis.

"We just want accountability," he said and talked of a lack of communication from county leadership.

The volunteer organization over time invited Pyles to numerous meetings, but "he has declined every single opportunity," Dayton said.

County commissioners have been absent from the volunteers' banquets, he said.

Slim notice

Steve Corioni is president of the Allegany County International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1715.

County officials waited to notify the union of the budget problems, which left little time for members to discuss potential cost savings related to their contracts, he said Friday.

"We basically had 13 business days," Corioni said.

That's a problem because bylaws require Corioni give the members notice before he can call special meetings for issues such as contract amendments and voting.

Corioni said he hopes county officials pay attention to the number of people who were at Thursday's budget meeting.

"The community packed that room," he said and added he was grateful to see the large crowd.

"The community cares," Corioni said. "I think that's gonna go a long way to fix the problem."

Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.