The value of volunteers

EMA officers saved taxpayers more than $500,000 in 2021

The uninformed might call them “rent-a-cops” or “wannabes.” But those people don’t understand how valuable the volunteers of the Howard County Department of Emergency Management (EMA) are to the community.

Last year, those volunteers saved Howard County taxpayers more than $500,000 by securing accident and crime scenes, escorting funerals, assisting the county coroner, and performing a variety of duties so that paid professional emergency personnel can better serve the community.