LA PLATA, Md. — The Charles County Board of Fire and Rescue Commissioners opened its September meeting with a moment of loss before turning to a budget that, by its own chairman’s account, leaves the county’s volunteer fire departments funded at only 86 cents on the dollar.
“We’ve had a pretty rough week within the volunteer service,” said Bill Deere, the board’s vice chairman and the Charles County Association of Emergency Medical Services representative, opening the meeting’s volunteer coordinator report. “We’ve lost two of our esteemed leaders.”
The board lost William “Bill” Eckman, La Plata’s longest-serving mayor and a former La Plata Volunteer Fire Department member who helped lay the groundwork for the county’s water-supply planning going back to 1995, and Thomas “Tom” Flint II, a past chief affiliated with the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department who chaired the Southern Maryland Volunteer Firemen’s Association’s awards committee for years. Both men died September 16. “Bill was not only the mayor of the Town of La Plata, but Deputy Chief from La Plata Fire Department, a water supply guru, to say the least,” said Chairman Lynn Gilroy, who represents the Charles County Volunteer Fireman’s Association on the board. Funeral arrangements for both men had not been finalized as of the meeting.
A budget that funds 86 cents on the dollar
The board’s central business was the first public look at its fiscal year 2027 fire and EMS tax distribution formula — the mechanism that divides Charles County’s dedicated fire and EMS tax revenue among its volunteer companies. Deere told the board the county expects to collect about $18,390,199 in fire and EMS taxes for FY2027, with $5,746,937 earmarked for EMS operations and $1,149,387 for LOSAP, the volunteers’ length-of-service retirement program.
But Gilroy, presenting the fire side of the formula, said the math doesn’t close the gap between what departments say they need and what the tax base actually generates. “We’re only budgeting such as the fire, we’re looking at the 86% budget. There’s 14% of that budget that’s not funded,” he said. “That’s because we only got so much money coming in from you, the taxpayers, that you’re paying through your fire tax, and it’s distributed through the entire county. So we have to make do with what we have.”
Gilroy pointed to apparatus costs as the biggest driver. A new pumper now runs roughly $1.25 million, up from $1.16 million last year — a 4% increase — while a ladder truck or tower runs about $2.45 million and a tanker has climbed to $800,000 from $770,000. “None of this stuff is cheap,” Gilroy said. “It’s gone through the roof.”
Both the fire and EMS distribution formulas were tabled for a vote at next month’s meeting, giving departments and the public time to review them. The county’s $641.8 million FY2027 budget, adopted in May, already folded in a boost to the $2,500 property tax credit for eligible volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel; Deere told the board those credit notices went out to eligible volunteers this cycle, and the county’s delegation is now gathering data, at the request of Del. Debra Davis, on how many volunteers would be affected if the underlying state income tax subtraction were reduced or eliminated.
Truck approved for the 10th District, others delayed
The board formally approved 10th District Volunteer Fire Department‘s (Company 8) request to replace Vehicle 8, a 2009 Ford F-150 with more than 147,000 miles, with a new 2027 Ford F-150 crew cab purchased through Maryland’s state purchasing program. The full package — vehicle, paint, lettering, lights and cargo cap — totals $82,217.34, funded entirely from the department’s on-hand EMS and non-tax funds with no new debt. The retired truck will be reassigned as a utility vehicle, and the department’s current utility truck will be sold, with proceeds returned to the fund used to buy it.
Other apparatus projects moved more slowly. Bryans Road Volunteer Fire Department’s replacement of Truck 11 has slipped further into the county’s ongoing supply-chain backlog: cab fabrication is now slated to begin in May 2028, with completion expected that August. “We’re finding that we order equipment now, it takes two, two and a half years to get it in,” Deere said. “No matter which vendor you use, it’s the same story.” Westlake Volunteer Fire Department (Company 12) reported its replacement of Engine 121 has moved from a study committee to a formal letter of intent, with a purchase request expected within a month, while a separate Westlake apparatus replacement remains on schedule for chassis delivery this month and final completion in the second quarter of 2027.
Lightning strike knocks out Hughesville systems
Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department (Company 2) told the board it is still assessing damage from a suspected lightning strike that knocked out the station’s IT systems for a full 12 hours on July 28. The department is working with its insurer on repairs that include an estimated $20,720 fire pump controller replacement, a phone system reduced to a single working line, a damaged exterior sign, and multiple damaged GFCI outlets throughout the building. The department said it would report back once insurance coverage is resolved.
Elsewhere, Charles County Dive Rescue Co. 13 notified the board of two separate projects: a multi-stage plan to pour a 15-by-25-foot concrete pad and expand its equipment shed over the next six to twelve months, and a newly formed committee investigating roof repairs to Station 13 after storm and sun damage, with insurance coverage still being determined. Potomac Heights Volunteer Fire and Rescue closed out its roof and hose tower project, spending $23,949.49 — about 5% over its approved budget — after outside contractors determined the roof itself didn’t need replacing, only maintenance; the hose tower repairs are complete and the contractor paid in full. Bryans Road also reported its solar panel installation is finished, with its SMECO grid interconnection and county inspection pending ahead of a target activation date in mid-September.
Other business
The board’s volunteer coordinator reported a milestone of a different kind: the county fire and EMS association’s new street-address mailbox is now active, which for the first time gives the association a physical address it can use to apply for out-of-county and out-of-state grant funding. The coordinator also said the association is moving its roughly two dozen monthly vendor payments to electronic transfers to eliminate lost mail-in checks, and that its cadet program has grown to 22 students this year, with 12 entering EMT training on September 23 and the remainder beginning CPR and Firefighter I coursework the same week.
Gilroy also reminded department leaders that state law requires annual financial reports to be filed by October 15, and that several departments remain behind; he said he would contact them individually in the coming days. Capital project reports for the Cobb Island Volunteer Fire Department‘s (Company 6) replacement ambulance and rescue boat, Waldorf’s roof replacement, and Westlake’s utility vehicle replacement were all confirmed up to date ahead of next month’s deadline.
