Gloucester supervisors took a deeper dive into budget requests for the county’s two volunteer fire and rescue squads, as well as Social Services and the county’s HR department during a work session last Wednesday in the colonial courthouse.

Representatives from the four groups presented the board the reasons for their requests and the costs associated with them.

Both Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue and Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue presented the board with explanations for their funding needs. The proposed total budgeted amount for both companies is $5.7 million, a $1.9 million increase from the current operating budget. About $76,000 is budgeted for line of duty coverage, the Peninsula EMS Council and other miscellaneous expenses.

The proposed funding for AVFR is around $3 million which is a $1.4 million increase from its current budget. AVFR Chief Brad Burgess said a big reason for this increase is to help get the company back on track.

Burgess said that AVFR h...