Marion County Rescue Squad members in November 2009 work with the Volunteer State Rescue Squad to search for the the remains of three fishermen killed at Nickajack Dam.JASPER, Tenn. — When a board acts on a motion by one of its members, the devil is always in the details.
In September 2011, the Marion County Commission voted to reinstate 25 percent, or about $48,000, of the estimated $193,000 that rural volunteer fire departments, the Marion County Rescue Squad and Marion County Emergency Management lost in last year’s budget cuts.
In February, the board voted to restore another 25 percent, but forgot to mention the rescue squad or emergency management in the motion.
“In the second round, both the rescue squad and emergency management were excluded due to the wording [of the motion],” County Emergency Management Director Steve Lamb said.
Officials planned to bring the issue up at last month’s board meeting, but the rescue squad and emergency management crews were on a call at the time, Lamb said.