News

Volunteers in Flat Rock worth $150,000

By Janet R. Chapin, Published: February 17, 2016

FLAT ROCK — Volunteerism saved the Village of Flat Rock taxpayers $150,000 last year, the Village Council learned last week.

Figures compiled by Village Administator Judy Boleman showed that volunteers worked 7,009 hours on village business, advisory boards and committees and at festivals and the Park at Flat Rock.
Even that figure is likely to be low, she added, because some volunteer work never gets logged and the base value of volunteerism — estimated at $21.47 an hour in North Carolina — is less than the market value of work like engineering and lawyering that the village gets for free.
“When you ask people they feel like telling you the number of hours they work is a little bit braggy,” Boleman said.
Mayor Bob Staton, a retired attorney, logs many hours doing legal work for free.
“It’s important to keep in mind that many of our volunteers (provide valuable professional services. “For example the mayor writes most of our contracts and I’m quite sure if he were in the private sector he would be earning a little bit more than that. But we saved at least $150,000.”
Volunteers put in 1,269 hours at the park.
“A tremendous amount of effort and volunteerism goes into the park at Flat Rock and I think she be noted,” Boleman added.