The members of a Montgomery County panel who are paid $12,000 a year to attend monthly meetings to shape fire and rescue policy are facing elimination weeks after voting against a controversial ambulance fee backed by some elected officials.

The nearly 30-year-old Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Commission is outdated and overly expensive, Councilman George Leventhal told The Examiner. Its seven members — two volunteer firefighters, two professional firefighters and three members of the public — receive $1,000 each month to attend a meeting on public safety issues, according to county law.