News

What do homeowners get for fire tax increase?

By Bill Moss, Published: July 11, 2015

Chief Tim Garren has to manage the payroll of Valley Hill Fire & Rescue as any CEO does.

“Like with everyone, health care costs has absolutely been killing us,” he says. Insurance premiums aren’t as sexy as a new fire truck or a fancy rescue boat, but Garren and other fire chiefs across the county say personnel costs are a big reason for the fire tax increase all but one department got this year. They’re seeing costs go up and at the same time many cite a need for more paid firefighters as volunteer ranks decline.
The new Henderson County budget that went into effect on Wednesday raised the fire tax for 11 of the county’s 12 fire districts.
With a budget of $2 million and 28 full-time firefighters, Valley Hill covers 49 square miles of Henderson County that stretches from Hendersonville and Laurel Park through Crab Creek to the Transylvania County line. The department can’t sustain quality fire and emergency coverage without more money, he said.
“The budget (increase) was just overall the low tax assessment, the call volume and personnel and cost of health insurance,” he said. “We haven’t had an increase since the last revaluation. For Valley Hill we were staying neutral every year or losing” in the overall tax base.
As for service, he points out that rural fire departments put out every kind of fire, respond to medical emergencies, car crashes and lost hikers, conduct car seat inspections, offer free home fire safety inspections and provide mutual aid for surrounding departments.
“Speaking directly for Valley Hill, absolutely yes,” he said when asked if the department could justify a $262,000 budget. “It’s very much justified and I welcome anybody that wants to come talk to me about it for further explanation. It’s the cost to keep providing the same level of service to everyone. I’ve got 4 station, fire apparatus to keep up, insurance costs, you got insurance cost on the building.”
In Fletcher, firefighters have not had a raise in six years.
“The potential negative impact of not increasing the (fire tax) rate would see personnel continue to leave and go to other departments and severely limit the department’s ability to safely and efficiently manage the tremendous growth our district is experiencing,” board president William Wilson said.
Blue Ridge Fire & Rescue administrators said the department had lost tax base to annexation.
“The impact of the loss of revenue from the cancellation of the contract with the city of Hendersonville combined with the repressed economy, continued annexation and the lack of growth in the Blue Ridge District became clear during the 2014-15 fiscal year,” the administrators said in a request for a 2½-cent rate increase.