County can’t afford full-time fire departments
Do you want your taxes to go up by a huge amount? Apparently, some people do. According to an online poll on www.JacksonHeraldToday.com, 38 percent of those responding would like to have a full-time fire department in Jackson County even if it meant raising taxes considerably.
Because of some recent issues in the West Jackson area, Jackson County commissioner Bruce Yates recently asked county officials to estimate what it would cost to have a full-time fire department in the county. That excludes the towns of Jefferson and Commerce, which have their own fire departments.
The result of that quick study shows that the millage rates in the various county fire districts would have to go up by a huge, huge amount. For example, the Arcade Fire District currently has a tax rate of 1.64 mills. If that department went full-time from volunteer, that tax rate would have to be 10.5 mills; and that’s a conservative estimate.
Currently, the various county fire districts collectively spend around $2 million per year for their mostly volunteer departments. Some departments, like West Jackson, do have full-time staffing, but many rural departments rely on volunteer firemen.
If all of those departments were done away with and the county created a full-time system, at minimum the cost would be over $7.5 million and likely much higher, according to the county’s data.
Although there are problems with the current volunteer fire structure in Jackson County, those are mostly due to lax oversight rather the system itself. Some fire districts have become little more than little kingdoms where personality clashes and egos dominate.
But that has happened because the board of commissioners has for too many years not given proper oversight to those fire districts. With the exception of the West Jackson Fire District, every other district in the county serves at the pleasure of the BOC. They could be abolished by the BOC tomorrow. And while they each set their own tax rates, legally it is the BOC that levies that rate. The board is not required to go along with any of the fire tax rates and could, in fact, set it at whatever level it deems is needed.
The problem is, the BOC has been hands-off for decades. For the most part, it has not given any financial or leadership oversight to the fire districts. It has not held the departments accountable in the same way it holds other county departments accountable. In that void have risen some actions that have not reflected well on the current system. The BOC needs to take a stronger role in the oversight of those departments.
But in the big picture, Jackson County citizens are still getting a pretty good deal. In Nicholson, for example, taxpayers pay under 1 mill in fire tax (.96); if that were a full-time department, Nicholson area taxpayers would pay 5.5 mills or more. In Maysville, taxpayers pay 1.57 mills now; a full-time department in that area would cost 12.5 mills or more.
And what would a full-time fire department mean beyond the dollars? Spending that much more money would probably not have much tangible impact on fire protection for citizens. Most of the time, fire departments don’t save a burning house. They might keep a fire from spreading to a nearby house, or from spreading in a commercial district, but more often than not, residential fire responses are to put water on burning wood. Sometimes a fire response does save a home, but those are rare. Fire departments can keep one fire from becoming bigger, but they really can’t save a structure that is fully involved.
The bottom line in all of that is this: Jackson County cannot afford a full-time fire department. It would raise taxes by a huge amount. Unlike Gwinnett and other urban counties, Jackson County doesn’t have a large enough tax base to finance such a system. Much of the property in unincorporated Jackson County is still rural farmland and taxed at low values. And with much of the county’s industry concentrated in Jefferson and Commerce, there is only farmland and residential taxes to rely on to finance a rural fire system.
The current system of fire protection in Jackson County isn’t perfect, but the cost to go full-time is prohibitive. It just isn’t possible.
***
As this is being written, we don’t yet know the outcome of the Presidential election. It may be days or weeks before we know, according to some observers who believe there will be challenges in the courts in some key states.
In the grand scheme of things, it may not matter. The nation has taken a sharp turn to the left in recent years. Even those who call themselves “conservatives” have become addicted to the welfare state mentality. And Congress has lost all discipline and perspective.
So no matter who will be president for the next four years, the nation’s debt will continue to pile up for our children and grandchildren to deal with.
We are a selfish generation that refuses to sacrifice anything for the good of the nation’s future. No election will change that cultural tumor.
Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson Herald and co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
The result of that quick study shows that the millage rates in the various county fire districts would have to go up by a huge, huge amount. For example, the Arcade Fire District currently has a tax rate of 1.64 mills. If that department went full-time from volunteer, that tax rate would have to be 10.5 mills; and that’s a conservative estimate.
Currently, the various county fire districts collectively spend around $2 million per year for their mostly volunteer departments. Some departments, like West Jackson, do have full-time staffing, but many rural departments rely on volunteer firemen.
If all of those departments were done away with and the county created a full-time system, at minimum the cost would be over $7.5 million and likely much higher, according to the county’s data.
Although there are problems with the current volunteer fire structure in Jackson County, those are mostly due to lax oversight rather the system itself. Some fire districts have become little more than little kingdoms where personality clashes and egos dominate.
But that has happened because the board of commissioners has for too many years not given proper oversight to those fire districts. With the exception of the West Jackson Fire District, every other district in the county serves at the pleasure of the BOC. They could be abolished by the BOC tomorrow. And while they each set their own tax rates, legally it is the BOC that levies that rate. The board is not required to go along with any of the fire tax rates and could, in fact, set it at whatever level it deems is needed.
The problem is, the BOC has been hands-off for decades. For the most part, it has not given any financial or leadership oversight to the fire districts. It has not held the departments accountable in the same way it holds other county departments accountable. In that void have risen some actions that have not reflected well on the current system. The BOC needs to take a stronger role in the oversight of those departments.
But in the big picture, Jackson County citizens are still getting a pretty good deal. In Nicholson, for example, taxpayers pay under 1 mill in fire tax (.96); if that were a full-time department, Nicholson area taxpayers would pay 5.5 mills or more. In Maysville, taxpayers pay 1.57 mills now; a full-time department in that area would cost 12.5 mills or more.
And what would a full-time fire department mean beyond the dollars? Spending that much more money would probably not have much tangible impact on fire protection for citizens. Most of the time, fire departments don’t save a burning house. They might keep a fire from spreading to a nearby house, or from spreading in a commercial district, but more often than not, residential fire responses are to put water on burning wood. Sometimes a fire response does save a home, but those are rare. Fire departments can keep one fire from becoming bigger, but they really can’t save a structure that is fully involved.
The bottom line in all of that is this: Jackson County cannot afford a full-time fire department. It would raise taxes by a huge amount. Unlike Gwinnett and other urban counties, Jackson County doesn’t have a large enough tax base to finance such a system. Much of the property in unincorporated Jackson County is still rural farmland and taxed at low values. And with much of the county’s industry concentrated in Jefferson and Commerce, there is only farmland and residential taxes to rely on to finance a rural fire system.
The current system of fire protection in Jackson County isn’t perfect, but the cost to go full-time is prohibitive. It just isn’t possible.
***
As this is being written, we don’t yet know the outcome of the Presidential election. It may be days or weeks before we know, according to some observers who believe there will be challenges in the courts in some key states.
In the grand scheme of things, it may not matter. The nation has taken a sharp turn to the left in recent years. Even those who call themselves “conservatives” have become addicted to the welfare state mentality. And Congress has lost all discipline and perspective.
So no matter who will be president for the next four years, the nation’s debt will continue to pile up for our children and grandchildren to deal with.
We are a selfish generation that refuses to sacrifice anything for the good of the nation’s future. No election will change that cultural tumor.
Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson Herald and co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
This would eliminate the egos of the 2-3 Chiefs who are bringing things down. Also would get uniformed training and leadership.
For years the 911 center wanted to dispatch by station number but egos won't let that happen (cough cough Tom Crow).
So yes we can't afford a full time Dept but we could reorganize things and manage it more efficiently.
For the record nothing will change under Tom Crows leadership.... nothing.
If a business did decide to move to Jackson County, it would be along I-85 in either Jefferson, Commerce, or Braselton, which already have either full-time fire departments, or at least full-time staffing (read the article). They are not building new factories in rural areas like Arcade or on Jackson Trail Road.
The volunteer departments do a great job. Lightning struck a tree in our backyard last year. The Jackson Trail Fire Department was on the scene in a matter of minutes. I applaud these brave volunteers.
I don't get the comparisons to Gwinnett County. We aren't Gwinnett County, don't want to be Gwinnett County, and don't have the population or infrastructure to be Gwinnett County if we wanted to.
It hasn't been proven that the excessive amount of taxes I pay currently can be managed properly. Why should I want to give the government more for something that isn't needed?