A request from the Marion County Volunteer Fire Service for a funding increase produced crickets from the Board of Supervisors Monday morning.
Tri-Community Deputy Chief Tyler Creel, along with Tri-Community President Dewayne Stuckey and Morgantown Chief Krae Morgan, asked the board for a 1-mill tax increase and reasoned that even 0.5-mill increase would be appreciated because they understand the county is operating with a tight budget.
“This isn’t going to help us get anything new,” Creel said. “A 0.5 (increase) would just help us maintain what we are now. We came here about 3 years ago and never heard anything back on it. We were told they would take it under advisement. But we’re getting to the point now that we really need some extra money to maintain what we have in each fire district.”
But after hearing about all the good the volunteer fire departments do for Marion County, the board didn’t address the request directly or make a motion despite Creel asking directly for feedback. Beat 2 Supervisor John Moree did ask what a 0.5-mill increase would equate to, and Morgan said it would give each department about $11,000.
Currently, the six volunteer departments in the county — Foxworth, Tri-Community, Morgantown, Southwest Marion, South Marion and Pine Burr — split $215,000 annually from taxes, $115,000 from state insurance rebates and $65,000 from fire protection district taxes for a total of $395,000, giving each department an annual $65,833.33 budget.
Creel informed the board the county saves $3.4 million each year if it were to have paid fire departments covering the same area. The volunteer departments save home owners an estimated $2.8 million in insurance, and they also save $320,000 in potential woodland fire damages, according to Creel. He said the departments save the county approximately $6.6 million annually, and that is only relative to the financial benefits when they protect something far more valuable: Life.
“You can’t really put a value on lives saved per year, whether it be through rescue or EMS (Emergency Management Services). If any of you can, please let me know,” he said.
Stuckey said the tax funds directed to the volunteer departments is the only money spent by taxpayers that actually saves them money.
“It’s the only dollar the people of Marion County pay into taxes that gives them a significant return on investment and puts money back in their pocket through insurance savings,” he said.
Stuckey added all of the departments apply for grants regularly, but there aren’t many out there and there are a lot of other departments applying for them, too.
The volunteer departments make about 5,300 fire safety education contacts per year and also help in weather-related incidents, Creel said.
“A fire truck costs now about $295,000 for a basic (truck). Our budget is at $395,000 for the entire county,” he said. “A fire truck is good for 15 years. Right now at Tri-Community, we have two trucks that are 20 years old that are due to be replaced. Twenty years is as long as you can have them. At 15 years you have to do a three-hour pump test required by the state fire rating bureau that allows you to have an extra five years on the truck. Once that five years is over, the truck is no longer any good according to them so you have to replace that truck to maintain your fire rating.”
Creel added Tri-Community needs new turnout gear and two trucks right now, and that’s just one of the six departments. Morgan said he would love to be able to make improvements at Morgantown to lower its 10 fire rating, but it doesn’t have the funds to do so. He added the department was approved for a $70,000 grant last year to purchase a new truck, but the cheapest truck he could find was $250,000. After not being able to foot the extra $180,000, the department had to turn down the grant.
