Salisbury-Wicomico stalemate over fire service continues as firefighters voice concerns

The stalemate over Salisbury's fire service agreement with Wicomico County continues, with the ongoing funding gap is still being debated.

A statement released Sunday by Salisbury Career Fire Fighters Local 4246 stated "county council is looking to cut $600,000 from an already proposed and agreed upon amount of $2,000,000 between the county executive and city of Salisbury government, to fund fire and EMS services provided by the Salisbury Fire Department to the county portions of the Salisbury Fire district."

The organization further claims this proposed and agreed upon sum is to fund calls for service that have already been handled in 2023, as that is how the previous fire service agreements were structured.

The total slated for the department stands at $1.6 million.

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A potential 'discontinuance of service' to Wicomico County

The firefighters decried the cuts amid the County Council continuing to fund each county fire department the exact same, "no matter how many or few calls they run," the statement contended.

"That means the slowest volunteer fire department in the county running only a few hundred calls, receives the same funding, $668,000 as the busiest volunteer fire department does, running over a thousand. The council also plans an additional $75,000 in funding to each volunteer fire department, again, regardless of their call volume," the organization said.

The implications of failing to reach the $2 million total to the city, the firefighters organization said, was "almost definitely the discontinuance of services to those county portions of the Salisbury Fire district. That means houses, neighborhoods, businesses, streets and sadly even schools."

Stipulating the financial burden to the city and its residents is untenable, they continued to argue the Wicomico County government has "not nearly paid its fair share" in relation to the calls for service.

Data by the city's fire and EMS crews cited the Salisbury Fire Department handles 16,314 fire and EMS calls annually, a total higher than the combined total for fire and EMS departments in the region's 11 other fire districts. Also, roughly one third of the total call volume of the Salisbury Fire Department falls in county portions of the district.

"Do you or your family live in one of these possible affected areas? Better yet, do you have children or relatives that attend or work at a Wicomico County public school, that falls inside the Salisbury Fire/EMS district? We cannot fathom the in which one of our staffed units could not respond and aid someone in need," the statement said.

The latest on Wicomico County's budget for fire service

On Friday, the Wicomico County Council announced it had approved a $205,919,475 FY25 budget that included increased funding to the Salisbury Fire Department and Volunteer Fire Departments.

The funding for the Salisbury Fire Department increased in FY25 by 60% over the prior year’s contribution. That more than doubled the contribution the county has committed to the department in the last two years. An allocation of $825,000 has been designated for Volunteer Fire Companies, a significant increase from the flat funding initially proposed by the Office of the County Executive.

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"The men and women representing the Volunteer Fire Departments of Wicomico County deserve the best their government can provide for their selfless dedication to this County," the county said in a statement. "The approved budget represents our commitment to fiscal responsibility while addressing the essential needs and priorities of our community."

The council noted it remained dedicated to serving the residents of Wicomico County and" will continue to work diligently" to ensure sustainable growth and development.

"We would like to thank all the department heads and staff members for their collaborative efforts during the budget process," the county said.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Firefighters sound off on Salisbury-Wicomico fire service stalemate