Lancaster County is leaning into the idea of offering its EMS providers hazardous duty retirement benefits.

During an FY27 budget discussion, Lancaster County Administrator Don Gill raised the issue with the Board of Supervisors. He explained that the benefits, provided through the Virginia Retirement System, would allow EMS providers to retire five years earlier. He said Lancaster should begin offering the benefits because it would help the EMS department.

A lot of time when Lancaster EMS Chief Matt Smith tries to hire someone that’s the deciding factor of whether they come or not, Gill told the Board. If a prospective employee is coming from a jurisdiction that offers the benefit but Lancaster doesn’t, he said, they’ll lose those years of service.

“Recruitment and retention of EMS folks is tough,” said Gill. He added that other EMS departments in the region already offer the benefits.

At a later meeting, Smith said his primary goal for the department is staff recruitment and retention.

“Keeping staff, keeping competition, bringing in benefits that assist keeping people here and getting our staffing roster up to date.”

According to Smith, the department was finally close to being fully staffed, with one new hire recently made and a potential 16th provider, which would bring the department back to 2014 staffing levels. Changing employees to the Virginia Retirement Hazardous Duty Supplement System “that’s a big attractor to not only keep people here, but bring people in.” In addition to early retirement, the system provides a decent stipend once they retire, he noted.

Smith also proposed a 5% salary increase for FY27, which he said will keep the department “relatively in line across the district.” Unless another county makes a drastic change during its budget process, Smith said all departments in the Northern Neck would be comparable. Benefit Options & Costs Gill explained there are two levels of hazardous duty supplements: a 1.7 multiplier and an enhanced 1.85 multiplier, figures that determine how much must be contributed. Police in the Lancaster Sheriff’s Office already receive the benefit with the 1.7 multiplier, and the county had an actuarial study done to determine the cost for adding EMS at both levels.

Currently, the county’s VRS contribution rate is 13.16%. Offering EMS providers the benefit at the 1.7 multiplier would increase the rate to 15.94%. That increase would apply to all county employees—a $232,000 expense—although only EMS and law enforcement would receive the benefit, Gill told the Board.

With the 1.85 multiplier, the VRS percentage would rise to 17.22% and cost the county $330,000.

Gill said Essex and Northumberland counties offer the 1.7 multiplier while Richmond County and Westmoreland offer the 1.85.

The Lancaster Board of Supervisors requested that Gill rework the proposed budget to include the 1.7 multiplier benefits for EMS, which the county administrator presented late last month.

Gill said the Board must pass a resolution before the benefits can be officially added, and he will likely present that resolution in May at the same meeting where the budget is approved.