10-cent fire tax could come to local towns

Six of the seven local fire departments that have requested a fire tax rate other than what was proposed by the county were voted on Tuesday, May 20, to decide if they will go before the county Board of Commissioners to be approved. The fire commission serves as a group that can make recommendations to the county board, but the ultimate decision to implement the fire tax rates belongs to the county.

Spivey’s Corner, Garland, Piney Grove, Godwin-Falcon, and Clinton fire departments all have requested a rate of 10 cents, with Harrells requesting a 9.5-cent rate. Turkey had also requested a different rate other than the 9 cents the county proposed for them, but they were not present May 20, due to a meeting with Faison and Warsaw FD. They are also seeking a 10-cent fire tax rate as well.

A public hearing was held, but no comments were made.

The next item on the agenda was the consideration of the fire tax rates requested by the aforementioned departments. Upon every vote on whether to recommend each department’s rate they asked for, each vote was unanimously in favor. The next step is for these recommendations from the fire commission to go before the county commissioners on whether they will be put in place for the new fiscal year.

Piney Grove Fire Chief Ashley Grimes was in attendance to request an amendment to the proposed contract. They are seeking a five year contract that will lock in the 10-cent tax, as opposed to having to come back before the board every year and presenting cause for the rate to remain. Grimes addressed the board saying, “I think our biggest concern is if we borrow the money to buy a new truck, and add another person on paid staffing, it’s gonna take so much of our budget. We want to be assured that we can afford it every year.”

Unlike all the departments that signed the county’s multi-year proposed rate contracts, these seven will have to come back every year to justify the rate that they’ve requested.

District 1 County Commissioner Allen McLamb acknowledged Grimes’ concern and responded, “I understand that, and I’m sure that we’re going to work toward that. I still think it’s something we need to take into consideration, where all the other [fire departments] signed off, and they feel very comfortable with that they done. So we got to look at a lot of stuff.”

Interim County Manager Jeff Hudson and County Attorney Paul Allen expressed how this could open up a set of problems. Hudson informed the commission, “The county commissioners still pertained the complete authority to set tax rates. The contracts are in place, and the contracts do have a multi-year rate, but if the commissioners in the future decided that they were, for some reason, not going to abide by the contract, it would be not good and controversial, but the commissioners could still back up. So to the point of borrowing money on the basis of a contract with the county, there was nothing that 100-percent guarantees that the county would continue that rate regardless.”

“The county can’t be bound in that way,” Hudson stated. “Certainly, there would be consequences, political consequences, or lawsuits could possibly be filed.”

Hudson then passed the floor to Allen. “We would have, in this situation, an issue of statutory law, and what’s your purview is within that versus, obviously, contractual binding law,” Allen stated. “There would likely be some litigation to delve into those issues and try to resolve that in those discrepancies and whatnot, but it would not change the statutory authority of the purview within the county, that you are able to set the tax rates.”

“It’s just that the contract obviously lays out the understood terms going into the foreseeable future, as far as what those terms, at this time, have been agreed to and are anticipated to be in the future,” Allen continued.

This was being stated as an informative statement by Hudson and Allen, not suggesting that it will happen in definite terms. Hudson stated, “I’m not saying the commissioners have this intention or would advise that. I just want to make sure that legally, because of what I just heard a moment ago (referring to Piney Grove’s amendment), ‘if we enter debt, we’re entering debt reliant on this tax rate always being the same,’ and that may not be the case.”

McLamb directed this comment to Grimes, and every fire department, stating, “I’m hoping I can ease your mind a little bit, and let you know that the direction that the commissioners that I talk to, the intent is not to leave any fire department hanging.” He continued by saying, “I hope you’ve seen enough to know that we’re very serious about public safety, and I want every fire department to see it.”

“All of us sitting here or wherever else wants you to feel like you can talk to us, or come and talk to whoever ends up as county manager, or a lawyer, we want you to know we’re not gonna leave you hanging,” McLamb asserted.

The amendment will have to be decided by the county commissioners after the fire commission decided to forward the motion without recommendation. This came after Plain View Fire Chief and board member Ken Jackson stated, “I think if you’re gonna do it, you’re gonna have to do it for every fire department that’s requested a tax increase. It’s not fair to do it just for this department.”

Fire Marshal Prentice Madgar said in agreement, “I think that would be the fair thing to do, whether you wanted a contract amendment or not.”

McLamb asked Allen and Hudson “is this possible?” in which Allen replied that a holdover provision would have to be signed by all fire departments while the county “negotiates and investigates what would be a proper alternative course.”

Hudson then informed the board, “I’ve pretty much finished the budget at this point today, but I had to plug in a holder. I had not input the fire tax rates. So the fire tax rates stand alone, apart from the budget. The problem you have contractually I think is that you have all but two fire departments that have signed the existing contract, and the board of commissioners has agreed to the existing contract. So if you change the contract for two fire departments, then it becomes a new negotiation with all the rest of the fire departments and the board of commissioners.”

Hudson continued by stating, “Your recommendation could go to the Board of Commissioners, and there it would be passed, or approved or rejected. I would say that you have your fire contracts expiring soon, and whether or not those negotiations could all happen between now and when those contracts expire, that’s something that we would have to work on. I know that the attorney has mentioned a holdover provision, and that’s a holdover provision of the other contract. But the work [that the] County commissioners have already signed contracts for, like I said, I think all of but two. So that would mean a new contract amendment for the other fire departments.”

He also mentioned how getting this done could be a hurdle. “I can’t see where the other fire departments wouldn’t want to have a provision where they would have a higher tax rate guaranteed for multiple years. I do not know if the other county commissioners would want to try to lock themselves in at a higher tax rate without a budget presentation for another few years, considering the other budget factors that the county is in right now. This is not the only tax rate that the county commissioners will be considering. The county commissioners will also be reconsidering a county government tax rate rate, which based on last year’s budget, this year’s going to be very difficult.”

McLamb closed in comments regarding the next county commissioners meeting stating, “I’ll go before the board and we’ll do a heartfelt discussion to where everyone feels good. I don’t want you guys to feel like we’re leaving you out and we’re not doing our part. That part, I’ve made that promise a long time I’m gonna stick to it.”