West Blount Fire & EMS District Board of Trustees January 8, 2026
The Board of Trustees for West Blount Fire and Emergency Medical Services District met at Fire
Station No. 1 on January 8, 2026, the meeting was opened at 6:00 PM by Marty Stover, Chair.
Prayer was offered by Danny Smith. All trustees were present, plus Clay Jones, Chief, Christie
Moore, Treasurer, and Christy Harris, Billing Manager. Guests included Allen and Misty
Armstrong and Warren Stewart
The minutes of the November 13, 2025, meeting were accepted on motion by Jamie Huffstutler,
seconded by Danny Smith .
Financial report – The operating balance for December 2025 was $6,187.81. Total income was
$14,312.60, with dues of $12,022.67. Total expenses were $58,471.01, including payroll of
$31,082.93 and repair and maintenance of $3,175.58. Transferred $60,000 to the General
Fund from the 2024 CD
The financial report was accepted on motion by Mark Giddy, seconded by Danny Smith.
Chief’s Report – Total calls for 2025 were 1561, plus 134 out-of-area (70 – Bangor; 2 – Corner;
4 – Dallas-Selfville; 4 – Locust Fork; 33 – Mt. High/Ricetown; 20 – Nectar; 1 – Warrior): 916
medical, 158 auto accident; 49 structure fire, 54 wild fire, 15 vehicle fire, 86 fire alarm, 24 fire
other, 184 public service, 75 tree down, 0 HAZMAT.
The following was also reported:
 Personnel – Captain Jessie Watkins has been moved to day shift to help cover increased
calls in the daytime; Dustin Tuttle has been hired to fill a vacancy, and will attend recruit
school soon; Dalton NeSmith has been retained as our attorney in the lawsuit with one
former employee who quit, without working out a two weeks’ notice, since the employee
did not fulfill the contract to work for two years, he has to pay back the money for his
schooling, salary and the cost of the contract employee hired to fill his spot
 Apparatus – Engine 1952 will go in for new tires and alignment next week
 Training – There will be drone training at the end of this month; there was an accident
with the drone, has been sent for repair
The Chief’s report was accepted on motion by Mark Giddy, seconded by Danny Smith.
Regular order of business was dispensed with in order to have discussion with Allen Armstrong
about changes to the funding model currently required by the State Legislature. Currently there
is a flat-rate fire dues for all structures, regardless of size or capacity which was established
many years ago by the state legislature. As such it can only be changed by the legislature. This
change is needed to ensure fairness in dues for all structures depending on size, supports
volunteer recruitment, staffing, and apparatus needs, creates long-term sustainability instead of
running crisis-to-crisis, to help maintain fire protection, emergency response, and firefighter
safety.
Two resolutions were presented and approved by the board for submission to the legislature:
Resolution #2026-1 concerns Scaled Funding Model With Base-Rate Protections. This
resolution was accepted on motion by Dolores Fort, seconded by Mark Giddy. Resolution
#2026-2 concerns Firefighter Safety and Operational Risk. This resolution was accepted on
motion by Dolores Fort, seconded by Mark Giddy. A letter which will be sent to Senator Shay
Shelnut and Rep. David Standridge along with the resolutions was also presented. This letter
summarizes what each resolution is and why it is important.
West Blount Fire Board – January 8, 2026 Page 2
Allen Armstrong stated that the best time to get these presented is before the start of the
legislative session, November or December of this year, so there is time for them to get it on the
agenda. Allen will talk to David Standridge to find out what we can do to help in this process.
A meeting will be set with Mt. High, Ricetown and Bangor to discuss this issue and how it affects
all of our departments.
Allen was thanked for his time and input, then he and Misty left.
Old Business
Billing Update – There was a check in the amount of $3,971.49 received from MSN (Massey,
Stotser, & Nicholas) for November collections, making a total of $257,662.74 received to date.
There were three new accounts added. Fire dues received in December was $8,907.67 in
checks or cash, $2,595 in Credit/Debit card. There were also $575 assessment fees, $1,654.22
insurance reimbursement, $120 donations, $0.00 MSN fees, and $750 other income, which
includes the sale of the trailer. Total collected for December was $14,601.89 [income from
December 2024 was $21,748.31]. Total collected for the year was $693.393.28 [income from
2024 was $646,057.32].
There were 3,650 accounts invoiced. Dues notices are almost ready to be mailed out.
There are 3,634 totaling $878,494. There are 1500 addresses that 911 has that we don’t. They
will be sending them for us to add them to our records.
Third Party Billing – Payments received this month were $1,654.22, making a total of
approximately $35,000 for 2025, and a total lifetime payments received of $46,945.56. There
are 25 invoices in Que.
Blount Springs Water Update – Mr. Tullis has filed the lawsuit against Blount County Water.
Sell Ambulance – The funds of the sale will be used to buy a pickup.
New Business
Purchase new vehicles – There are two used vehicles that have been found that would be a
benefit to us to run calls, one costs $24,500, the other $29,000. After discussion, Jamie
Huffstutler made a motion, seconded by Mark Giddy, to purchase both vehicles. Motion passed.
Ambulance Service – AmeriPro, the new ambulance service for the county is being housed at
Station 2 in Smoke Rise. This was to make sure that there would be an ambulance in our area.
The firefighters are now at Station 1.
New Office Hours – To better accommodate the community, office hours will now be Monday
through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Change of Personnel – Stacy Quinn resigned as Billing Manager on December 1, her last work
day was the week ending December 12, 2025. Christy Harris was hired to fill the position,
The next board meeting will Thursday, February 12, 2026, 6:00 PM at Station One.
West Blount Fire Board – January 8, 2026 Page 3.
The meeting was adjourned on motion by Mark Giddy at 7:40 PM.
Present
Dolores Fort
Mark Giddy
Jamie Huffstutler
Danny Smith
Marty Stover
Clay Jones
Christie Moore
Christy Harris
Visitors
Allen Armstrong
Misty Armstrong
Warren Stewart
Dolores Fort
Secretary