Town Hall meetings set to take place in Cumberland County and in the Town of Farmville are to gain community input on the areas’ fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) departments.

The town hall for Cumberland County will take place Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the circuit courtroom at the Cumberland County Courthouse.

The meeting, a public notice from the county cited, “will allow all residents of Cumberland County to discuss their concerns on Fire and EMS service delivery with the study team in an open forum.”

Cumberland County Fire & EMS Chief Tom Perry said the Cumberland County Board of Supervisors requested a Fire & EMS study from the Virginia Fire Services Board (VFSB). The VFSB is a 15-member policy board in the executive branch of state government that specializes in advising the government on issues related to fire services.

“The study will look for ways to improve overall service delivery and cost saving measures for Cumberland County,” Perry said. “The focus will be on service delivery of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, as well as system improvements for recruiting and retaining volunteers. This study has been done by many localities across the state and provides recommendations to the locality in ways to improve services.”

Perry said the study comes at no expense to the county.

“The public town hall meeting will gain input from the citizens about any issues or concerns they have as they pertain to Cumberland County and its Fire & EMS capabilities,” Perry said. “All citizens are urged to attend.”

Farmville Town Council’s town hall meeting will take place June 5 at 6 p.m. at Council Chamber in the Farmville Town Hall at 116 N. Main St.

Dean Farmer, chief of Farmville Fire Department, said in an email statement that the Town also requested a study from the VFSB to evaluate the department. He said the representatives of the study include staff from the fire services board, department of forestry, Office of Emergency Medical Services and staff from the Virginia Department of Fire Programs.

“During their visit they will evaluate organizational structure, budgeting, personnel, training, fleet management and operations,” Farmer said.

Farmer said he sees the study and town hall as a way for the department to grow in the way that it provides services to the community.

“We look forward to this great opportunity to enhance the services which we provide,” Farmer said.