By Stephen Smoot
Last week, the Hardy County Emergency Ambulance Authority held its quarterly meeting with representatives of the three agencies providing service. They opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and the customary invocation by Paul Lewis.
First came the Treasurer’s Report from the HCEAA in which they revealed receipts and expenses since the start of the 2026 fiscal year on July 1. It took in almost $361,000 and paid out just under $292,000 in expenses. Those came in 6.31 percent below what the budget allowed, despite that “October was anticipated to be a higher expense month.”
“Of course we cut expenditures,” explained Derek Alt, Director of HCEAA. Much of that came from staffing adjustments as the organization looked to locate the “sweet spot,” balancing staffing with service needs. This means making sure that peak staffing aligns with peak demand and less staff are on call during lulls in activity.
“We’ve about got that down to a science,” shared Alt.
Expenditures included repairs to a bay and one of the bathrooms. Savings also came from switching vendors for ambulance oxygen, which “made a big difference.”
Board member Roger Vanscoy inquired if they could add two full time crews. Alt replied “we’ll try very hard . . . we strive for that.” Vanscoy then said HCEAA is “in a better position . . . than you’ve been in in months,” to which Alt answered in the affirmative.
Wardensville Volunteer Rescue Squad reported next, opening with the statement that revenue had declined in the quarter. Additionally “expenses are in line” with what was budgeted, outside of a vehicle repair. Financial issues stemmed from the squad having to miss out on a fundraiser that was expected to raise $9,000 for the agency.
They also shared that the Town of Wardensville purchased two iPads to replace older and damaged devices. Also, “all of our vehicles are in service” including one that had a brake light problem addressed earlier that day.
West Hardy shared that in 2025 they had taken in $629,744.82 and paid out $627,117.06 for a razor-thin margin to the good of $2,627.74. While no expenses rose to the level of “out of line,” the agency had to “eat the cost” of the missing salary enhancement funds.
In 2024, the West Virginia State Legislature passed a salary enhancement package for EMS to assist both paid and volunteer services which would extend for a limited duration. West Hardy used it as an incentive to help to fill their schedule. In 2025, the State failed to fill in the fund established by statute, which left agencies statewide scrambling to address the difference.
Governor Patrick Morrisey, when asked about the fund in Franklin last month, responded that his administration’s goal lay in a permanent solution to help local agencies provide better financial incentives for volunteers and pay for others.
West Hardy reported that it had aggressively sought community support, which it received in the forms of grants and donations from generous locals. The $61,530 raised went toward buying needed equipment, such as fluid warmers, thermometers, and radio equipment. It has also attended numerous public events and will hold a Christmas fundraiser.
Outreach also included classes for CPR at EACHS Head Start.
The agencies then reviewed and discussed their call statistics for the quarter ended before going into the committee reports. Vanscoy read the minutes for the executive committee meeting. That included research on a question about open meetings posed by a citizen and included mention of statutes and case law regarding them.
Additionally, WVRS requested a $1,500 per month increase from HCEAA over the $3,000 received now, but no action on that was taken. That same agency also received a license renewal, which triggers the need for new memorandums of understanding.
Next, Vanscoy revealed that the effort to create an interagency advisory committee on service excellence had a “lukewarm reception,” but underscored the need for continual conversation between the agencies in some form. A request had come to return to monthly meetings as well.
The Board determined that informal gatherings of the Board and agency representatives should take place between quarterly meetings “to talk about special service items and needs” and ”agenda items will be simple.”
Toward the end of the proceedings, the Board heard an update on the impending ambulance fee. The Hardy County Commission, Board President and Hardy County Commission President Steven Schretom shared that the work session in September that covered that would be placed on the County website.
At the December HCEAA meeting, edits can be made and anyone can comment. The fee will cost $157 and include a consumer price index factor that could create slight adjustments over time. The fee for homesteads would be $90.
The meeting closed with a heartfelt comment from a citizen during the time set aside for the public. The citizen shared that they had to call the ambulance for a loved one very early in the morning and shared with all that “the response was prompt, the people professional. They came in. They calmed me down.”
After sharing that the loved one was okay, the citizen described the first responders as “fabulous” and said “I just want to thank this organization for being here.”
