Pine Ridge gets partial tax hike: Other fire departments will have to wait

Five volunteer fire departments asked that their fire district tax rate be increased in order to fund their operations more adequately. Changes to the fire district tax rate can only be approved by the board of county commissioners and are not a ballot referendum item.

The board agreed earlier this year to hire a consultant to look at the rural fire model in Surry County and make recommendations that may improve staffing. Several board members did not want to address potential tax increases until that work was completed.

However, Commissioner Larry Johnson brought forward a concern for Pine Ridge Volunteer Fire and said they were in need of assistance. The board approved half the requested tax increase for that fire district only.

Central Surry VFD requested a district tax increase of 0.9 cents, raising it to 9.1 cents; Franklin VFD asked for 0.7 cents, to 10 cents; and Pilot Knob VFD asked for 1.3 cents, to 5 cents.

Pine Ridge VFD asked for 3 cents 9.7 cents; and Skill Camp VFD asked for 0.1 cent to an even 10.

“At our retreat when we decided to bring in a consultant to look at fire departments, wasn’t this part of the topic of discussion the consultant would be looking at?” Vice Chair Mark Marion asked.

“We’re going to look at all tax rates and are going to look all fire tax for the rural county options and we are in the process of it,” Chairman Van Tucker said and asked for an update on the review process from Surry County Manager Chris Knopf.

“The request for proposal process sunset in the end of May, and we are going to start reviewing the submittals next week and our staff committee will review them and make a recommendation in July, “ Knopf informed.

He said the selection could be made in July, but the full report may not be returned until the end of January, which would allow for the data to be used at the next fiscal year budget planning retreat — but would not offer relief to the five departments in the interim.

“I would like to wait and see what they come up with and see what happens with that,” Marion said.

“The consultants will have to come in and meet with the county, meet with our county departments that work with the fire departments, and will have to meet with each of the fire chief and board chair of each of the fire departments to do whatever due diligence they need to perform. It will be very comprehensive deep-dive,” Knopf said.

Tucker set expectations that the consultant could make any number of recommendations. “It ranges from no recommendation to plenty of recommendations. Consolidations, fire tax districts, who knows? Everything is open and they are to give a full analytical report on how we can look after the rural fire protection in this county.”

Knopf said the sky is not the limit when it comes to raising fire district taxes in order to fund the operations of the volunteer fire department in that part of the county. “You can’t go beyond 15 cents and if every department gets to 15 and they still can’t make it, I’m talking about some point in the future, you got a real real problem.”

Many departments he said are approaching two-thirds of that maximum, ten cents, “So now is the time to find out what the options are and a lot of counties in our part of the state are starting to do things differently.”

“It is the responsibility of the commissioners in each county to determine how fire services is provided. You contract 17 volunteer fire departments, but it is still your responsibility, not theirs. They provide the service to you, but it is your responsibility to determine how it is going to be provided. The study will show us where we have been over the last 50 years and where we are headed,” Knopf explained.

“I thought this was all tied into the consultant,” Marion reiterated and expressed he wanted to hold off on any determination on the fire district tax increases until the consultant returned.

“I have a concern for Pine Ridge,” Commissioner Larry Johnson said. “They are in big trouble, and they need some paid firefighters.”

“They have not asked for a whole lot over the years. They were the last one to come on with the tax,” Commissioner Bill Goins noted. “What if we did half of that?”

“That might tide them over until we get the consultant report back because this is out of hand, “ Johnson said.

With the requested tax increase halved by the board of commissioners, the potential increased revenue for the Pine Ridge VFD is projected at $46,959.50.

The board felt that Pine Ridge was in a precarious funding position and would benefit from the additional thousands in tax revenue until a consultant can complete the review of.

“I’m not saying no to any of these (rate increases), I just wanted to wait on the consultant,” Marion clarified. All budget decisions are still pending until the final vote on the budget at the Monday, June 17, meeting of the board of commissioners.

Johnson also expressed that in the coming years he felt the natural tax base for Pine Ridge VFD would increase as there is more development in the areas where it serves around the interstates and trucking operations in that part of the county.

Using historical call data provided to the board, Pine Ridge VFD stacks up as one of the busiest of the 18 volunteer fire departments. During the 2023 calendar year, it was dispatched to 211 fire calls and 318 medical calls, totaling 529 calls in all. Only Franklin (874), Bannertown (688), and Four Way Volunteer Fire (553) were dispatched to more calls.

In a seemingly related, but independent action, the board approved a $50,000 fire department facilities grant to Pine Ridge as well; Knopf said they have yet to be the recipient of the grant. “There were three departments who applied for the grant, but Pine Ridge is the only one who has never received it, so they are recommended to receive it this cycle.”