The JEB Stuart Volunteer Rescue Squad is taking names – for volunteers in a quest to return to its volunteer roots. It is also dealing with an ill-timed and perhaps ill-spirited prank, and discussing its finances with the community.
Derek Wagner, captain of the squad that planned to shutter earlier this year after being turned down by the county for financial help, said the squad’s financial information has been public for many years.
He noted that most nonprofit agencies are required to file an annual 990 report with the government, and the local squad is no exception. Additionally, the squad is audited annually, and provides a copy to the county, which also is required to obtain funding from the county.
Because it discussed closing, the squad was not included in the county’s current budget for the new fiscal year that began on July 1.
Wagner said that as is customary for most other businesses and organizations, salaries were the squad’s top expense. In 2023, that included $227,577.97 spent for payroll, and $82,898.24 was for payroll taxes, with a combined total of $310,476.21.
As the squad’s chief that year, Wagner was paid a $50,000 base salary for working 50 hours a week. He earned another $22,602.13 in overtime pay.
“That was working approximately 66 hours a week. That’s on average. Some weeks, it was 80, 90, or 100 hours a week while I got straight salary. But if you break it up, on average, I was working 15 hours overtime each week,” he said.
Other staff also were paid. While The Enterprise is not using the names of those employees, the titles and amounts paid are as follows:
An EMT Basic #1 position received $55,776.89 for the year, for an average of 56.6 hours work a week, Wagner said.
A part-time driver #1 who started in October received $6,735.75 for about three months of work, while the Paramedic #1 position received $24,591.25 for about six months of work.
An EMT Basic #2, which was a part-time post, started on February 5, and received $12,514. An Advanced EMT #1 received $44,355.06 working full-time, an average of 48.1 hours a week.
“A lot of weeks were 60 hours weeks, but there were a couple of weeks” that person could not work due to personal reasons, he said.
Wagner said a part-time driver #2 started in the role on September 16. That person was paid $5,346.25. EMT Basic #3 received a pay of $25,092 working an average of 45.46 hours a week, while EMT Basic #4 received $27,736 working an average of 37.2 hours a week.
“We had $21,306.25 that was paid to five volunteers (as stipends). So, that’s on a per call basis that they’re getting a set amount per call they run,” he said.
Also in 2023, Wagner said the squad spent $34,478.57 on fuel, and paid $37,668.67 for insurance.
“Truck maintenance, that’s going to be oil changes, tires, breakdowns, hauling, towing, $19,689.81. Utilities, that’s going to be power, gas, stuff like that” was “$13,308.07, medical supplies – $9,006.26,” he said.
The squad’s miscellaneous costs – which include accounting fees, billing fees, operating supplies, and other costs – totaled $26,878.82, with “most of it is going to be the billing agency,” he said.
As for the squad’s immediate future, “we have volunteer staffing, so we’re just covering the calls as we can,” Wagner said, adding that the organization now is acting solely as a volunteer rescue squad. No one in the squad currently receives a paycheck for running calls.
Currently, six volunteers respond to calls as much as they can between their full-time jobs and daily lives.
“We all work full-time jobs, some of us work two jobs. There’s several days that we don’t have any coverage at all, and Station 8 (the county’s paid squad that was created to back-up other squads) covers all the calls,” Wagner said.
With few volunteers, the squad’s response to calls has dramatically dropped, Wagner said, and estimates the squad is covering two to five percent of all its calls.
“On average we’re getting dispatched to 100 to 120 calls” each month, he said.
However, squad treasurer Joanne Spangler noted that even the two percent call coverage is likely still equivalent to most other squads, which may have fewer calls because the Jeb Stuart squad covers a larger area with a larger population.
“Like Blue Ridge (Volunteer Rescue Squad) or Vesta (Volunteer Rescue Squad). If we run 16 to 17 calls, we’re running five to 10 percent, but” if those squads respond to the same number of calls, “they’re running 100 percent,” she said.
For example, Wagner said one month the JEB squad covered four or five calls, but was toned out to 120 calls.
“So, you do that math 120 divided by four or five that gives you a percentage, right? So CCDF gets toned like 16 to 17 calls a month and they cover four or five calls. So, we cover the same number of calls, but their percentages are higher due to the mathematical equation,” Wagner said.
To help increase the number of calls it can cover, Wagner said more volunteers are needed.
Wagner said the squad can help interested volunteers take the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOС) to learn how to drive emergency vehicles or take an Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) training course.
“Helpers – we’re looking for just people to help us keep the building clean. We’re not limiting anything, so even if you don’t want to run calls, there’s still volunteer opportunities here,” he said.
Wagner said the squad rents the community space side of the building out every weekend.
“Just somebody to help keep” stuff clean. “Because what it is, the same people that runs the calls are trying to keep up on the building and everything. Keep the chairs and tables clean, keep the floors clean, keep the bathrooms clean,” he said.
Wagner also addressed concerns about the squad’s building after a “For Sale” sign from a local real estate company was placed on the squad’s property approximately 11:44 p.m. on Saturday, June 22.
In a video posted to the squad’s Facebook page on June 25, an ambulance that appears to belong to the county’s paid service can be seen driving down the road. A few seconds later, a car turned around in the squad’s parking lot. The ambulance then passes the building again as it drives back in the opposite direction.
A woman wearing a hoodie is then seen running onto the squad’s property with the ‘For Sale’ sign in hand.
Wagner said the sign generated a number of calls – from county officials to residents. Most asked about the fate of the building.
“As of now, the building nor any of Jeb Stuart’s assets is for sale. We don’t want to sell, we’re not going to sell. We hope to stay alive and go back to our volunteer roots, but we don’t know what’s going to happen” in the future, he said.
“This was a senseless prank, played on the squad and the community,” the Facebook post said “We have additional camera footage, but it is not being released at this time.
He urged anyone who may have additional information or tips to call the organization at (276) 694-6171 or email him at Derek.wagner@jebstuartrescue.org.
The video can be viewed at Facebook.com/JebStuartRescueSquad. “We will keep your tip anonymous,” the Facebook post stated.
The squad’s next meeting is July 15 at 7 p.m. at the building. Anyone interested in volunteering is invited to attend. In the meantime, anyone interested in volunteering can call (276) 694-6171, or email Wagner at Derek.Wagner@jebstuartrescue.org.
