Due to costs connected with increased service to areas outside Chilhowie, the town is requesting an increase in funding from the county.
Town Manager John Clark reported at Thursday’s council meeting on a Joint E-911 Committee meeting in January where this issue was addressed.
“I stated that the $600,000 Fire and Emergency Management Services budget was about 13 percent of the town’s total budget and that we were running about a $150,000 deficit,” Clark said in his manager’s report to council. “I said that while we appreciated the county increasing the funding this fiscal year by about 17 percent to $59,000, an increase of about $8,000, the department was answering approximately 77 percent of its calls outside the corporate limits.”