Commissioners approve funds for Rescue Squad
County officials Wednesday (June 24) approved an extra $50,000 in funds for the Jackson County Rescue Squad by a vote of 4-1.
Commissioners Tom Massie, William Shelton, Mark Jones and Joe Cowan were in favor of the move, while Brian McMahan voted “no.”
According to county Manager Ken Westmoreland, the money, which comes out of the 2008-09 budget, is needed to repay the squad for purchases its members made after acquiring funding for their new building in Webster.
“They negotiated an interest rate with the Local Government Commission and the Federal Credit Union,” he said. “They were supposed to have excess funds, which they used to buy equipment to outfit the building and a generator. Due to the change in interest rates, that excess money evaporated but they had already made commitments to use that money.”
The Rescue Squad spent $52,000 on equipment, Westmoreland said. Their request for $50,000 will cover most of what the group has spent.
While most of the commissioners were willing to grant the request, McMahan said he thought the Rescue Squad overstepped their bounds by committing money they weren’t assured of getting.
“They applied for a loan to build a building and thought they would have some extra money,” he said. “So they went out and bought stuff they couldn’t pay for. I just can’t support that. No way.”
